Through Rose-Tinted Glasses
by A Writer With Mixed Interests
Summary: Follows the plot of Season 2 through Sarah's eyes. What if she had survived into No Going Back? Takes places in the same story arc as Through Her Eyes. *COMPLETE*
1. The New Girl

**Through Rose-Tinted Glasses**

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**I'm back! Now, before I begin, I spent a little while debating on how I was going to write this. That is, until a couple of people suggested that I just do the whole season from Sarah's point of view, so I guess I'll do that. This is technically the sequel to Through Her Eyes with a very slight AU. I also apologize sincerely if anyone is out of character.**

**Summary: Follows the plot of Season 2 through Sarah's eyes, with a slight AU and a rewrite of the poorly-written Episode 4. A "sequel" to Through Her Eyes.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights go to Telltale Games.**

**Enjoy! :D**

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"And then, the last of the body snatchers escaped the hospital morgue right before he could get caught!"

Sarah Hidalgo, age fifteen and three months, was smiling widely as she chatted with Rebecca, a woman whom she considered her friend, about her current favorite book, The Guurgles. The two of them were sitting at the table in the cabin's kitchen in the early evening. Sarah's father, Carlos, and Rebecca's husband, Alvin, were taking care of some of the dinner dishes. Another member of their group, Nick, was in the living room, bitching and moaning to himself about how he wasn't allowed to go hunting with his uncle Pete and his friend, Luke.

"You can't shoot for shit, son," he was heard mumbling, imitating Pete. "You can't shoot and your daddy never loved you."

"Sounds like an interesting book, sweetie," Rebecca told Sarah.

"It is, maybe I can let you read it sometime," Sarah offered sweetly.

But before anyone could comment, the front door burst open, and in ran Luke.

"Uh, we've got a little...situation going on outside," the young man explained.

"What kind of situation?" Carlos asked seriously.

Rebecca turned around and looked out the window, noticing Pete looming over someone, or something. She looked angry. "Oh, hell no."

She and Alvin left the kitchen and went outside to see what was going on. Sarah, Carlos, and Luke stood by the front door, the latter two discussing what was going on.

"Would you take a look at her?" Luke asked. "I don't know, just-"

A loud gunshot was heard, and then some yelling. Luke ran outside almost frantically. Sarah got up to follow, but Carlos stopped her.

"Sarah, I want you to stay inside," he warned cautiously. "Don't go outside for any reason, do you understand?"

"I...yes," the fifteen-year-old looked at the ground a little sadly as her father walked out. Of course she had to stay inside, she _always_ had to stay inside. But she knew that her dad would protect her from all the sick people, so what was the problem?

After about a minute or so, Sarah opened the door and peeked out. Everyone else was there, along with a strange girl that she had never seen before. The girl looked to be about a few years younger than Sarah.

Sarah couldn't help but point out her curiosity. "Who's she?"

Carlos turned around and replied, "Sarah, what'd I say? Stay inside!"

Disappointed, Sarah closed the door slowly. She never got to do anything, having no choice but to obey her father's orders. She decided to go to the living room and wait for everyone to come inside. Maybe she could make friends with this new girl, if Carlos would let her.

The group, minus Luke and Nick, reentered the house just as it began to pour rain. The girl wasn't with them. Sarah got up and ran towards her father.

"Dad, what happened?" she inquired. "Where's that girl?"

Carlos was silent for a moment, as if unsure whether or not to tell his daughter the truth. "We had to lock her in the shed, sweetie," he explained. "She was bitten by something, but we don't know what."

"We'll bring her in here in the morning to look at it," Pete added.

_"If_ she's still alive," Rebecca crossed her arms.

"I don't want you to talk to her, if she stays," Carlos warned. "I want you to stay away."

Sarah nodded understandably. _So much for a new friend,_ she thought.

They all watched as Rebecca left the room. Carlos placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Sarah, go upstairs and read your book for a little while, okay?" he suggested. "I'll be up soon to check on you."

Sarah nodded obediently and ran up the stairs. She was dying to get to the next chapter of The Guurgles, anyway, and tell Rebecca about it. She heard her father call for a house meeting, but barely paid any attention.

The teenager looked up from her book and listened. Was someone putsying around near her? It was probably just Rebecca or something.

The door opened, and it wasn't Carlos, or anyone from the group. It was the new girl! Sarah's slender body tightened up and her anxiety was triggering. What was this girl going to do?

Both girls jumped, and the younger one put her finger to her lips. "Shh!"

"You're not supposed to be in here," Sarah reminded her quietly.

For a moment, the girl stood at her spot, but then entered the room, closing the door quietly. "Hi, can you please help me?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to you, my dad can't know."

There was a pause, then the girl spoke up. "What are you reading?"

"A book."

"What book? I like books."

Sarah decided that this girl wasn't bad from what she saw. She was able to calm down before the attack even started, so she decided to tell her.

"It's called The Guurgles. It's about trans-dimensional body snatchers."

"...Cool."

The fifteen-year-old looked at the other girl's arm. It was bleeding out through her long-sleeved shirt. "What happened to you?"

"A dog bit me."

"Sounds scary. I bet it hurts."

"I could die if I don't take care of it," the girl told her. "Do you understand?"

Sarah didn't say anything.

"I just need something to clean it with," the girl continued. "I bet it would be with the rest of your medical supplies."

"Yeah, it is," Sarah whispered. "I'll help you."

"Good. Thank you."

"I'm Sarah," she introduced herself with a smile.

"I'm Clementine."

Now was when Sarah made her decision. "We're friends!" She got up, revealing that she was a bit taller than Clementine. "Right? We can be best friends! I haven't met another girl my age since way before! It's hard to be the only girl, you know? Rebecca's okay, but she's old. And that's it! And if her baby is a girl it'll be _forever_ before she's old enough to, like, be my friend. And then I'll be super old!"

"Yes, we're friends," Clementine decided with a small smile.

"Promise?" Sarah asked. "It's important. Friends have to trust each other no matter what. Do you promise or not?"

"I promise."

"Me too. Friends!" Sarah held out her pinkie in order to do the "pinkie swear" that she hadn't done in so long.

Clementine walked forward, and the two girls hooked pinkies.

"A pinkie swear is forever!" Sarah chirped. "I'll see if I can find the stuff my dad uses when I get a cut. Lemme look around."

She walked over to the other side of the bed and knelt down, searching around briefly until she found what Clementine (hopefully) needed. It was a bottle of peroxide. It stung, but it helped.

"I think this is it," said Sarah, handing the bottle to her new friend.

"That'll work," Clementine replied, putting the peroxide away.

"You can't do it here, though. Someone will find you!"

"Don't worry, I won't." Clementine walked over to the door, opening it. "Thanks, Sarah."

Sarah placed her finger to her lips, shushing her. When the door was closed, she smiled to herself. She had a friend!

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**So there's the first chapter. This story may or may not be a little shorter than the previous one, but I don't know. There will be little extras throughout the story. I chose Hidalgo for Sarah and Carlos's surname because it's Spanish, plus I knew a Hispanic girl with that surname. Now, please, please leave a review! :)**


	2. Cameras And Guns

**Thank you to Owen96, Assassin's Creed Master, and heidipoo for reviewing the first chapter! And to anyone that may ask, yes, my episode choices will be listed. This story will also be based on my choices as the last one was.**

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Sarah was about done reading for the night, and decided to continue tomorrow. She headed downstairs to put her novel away and get a drink of water before bed when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Clementine was sitting in a chair in the kitchen alone, clutching her arm.

The older girl looked around for any sign of Carlos. He wasn't in sight, so she headed into the kitchen.

"Hi," Sarah whispered with a smile. "Did they let you out of the shed?"

Clementine nodded lightly. "Yeah. Your dad agreed to fix my arm."

"Cool," Sarah replied. She walked a little closer and held out The Guurgles. "Do you wanna borrow my book? You would really like it!"

"Uh, sure," Clem took the book. "Oh, and...thank you for helping me." She gave Sarah a small, grateful smile.

Sarah beamed. "We're friends, friends help each other." She turned around briefly and turned back. "I gotta go before my dad sees me talking to you." Here she looked a little sad, but then smiled again. "Goodnight."

She walked out of the kitchen, and was lucky to steer clear out of sight right as her father turned the corner to the kitchen. She walked upstairs to her room, not really thirsty anymore, and sat on the bed to wait for Carlos.

Said man walked in only a few minutes later, holding the peroxide.

"Sarah, did you give that girl medical supplies?" Carlos asked cautiously.

"I didn't do anything," Sarah responded, giving her father the puppy-dog eyes, the most innocent look she could muster.

However, that trick didn't work this time, as Carlos frowned at her. "You say that every time you lie to me. That girl persuaded you to steal from us!"

Sarah's face fell. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I just wanted to help her! I didn't want her to die."

Carlos sighed. "Okay, then. But don't do it again, Sarah, or you will be punished. Understand?"

"Yes," Sarah nodded.

"Good. Go to sleep, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning."

Sarah grinned in relief that she wasn't in trouble. "Okay. Goodnight, Dad." She stood up and gave her father a hug, kissing him on the cheek. Carlos left the room and closed the door behind him so that his daughter could sleep.

The next morning, Sarah woke up to find out that Pete, Nick, and Clementine had gone fishing for that night's dinner. She didn't think that it was really fair that Clementine got to go and she didn't, but knew that Carlos probably wouldn't let her anyway.

She got dressed in her usual outfit and decided to go play underneath the house, something she rarely did. It was the closest to outside that she was going to get. Maybe Clem would play with her later. After all, they were friends.

Playing alone seemed a little boring to Sarah now that there was another kid, but she could make do. Something caught her eye, however, and she went over to see what it was.

Much to her surprise, she found an old Polaroid camera that still had film in it. She found that out when she tried to take a picture.

"Oh, boy!" Sarah exclaimed happily. "I'll show this to Clementine when she comes back!"

She turned her head to the right, and was surprised to see a handgun just lying there, but no bullets. Pete had once told her that it was called a Glock 17. She really wanted someone to teach her how to shoot, she _wanted_ to protect herself.

Sarah picked it up and decided to hide it upstairs where Carlos couldn't find it. She wanted to ask someone, not her dad, but someone to teach her.

She passed Alvin on the way back upstairs, so she hid the gun behind her back in fear that he would see it and tell her father. Luckily, the older man didn't seem to notice it, and just gave her a nod and a smile as he passed.

"Whew," Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know why, but she entered Pete and Nick's room instead. Maybe it was a good place to hide her newly found possessions.

The day progressed onto late afternoon, and soon, early evening. Nick, Pete, and Clementine had still not returned. Luke was pacing around in the kitchen.

"Shit, shit, shit, what if something happened?" Luke placed his hands to his head, almost panicking.

"Calm down, I'm sure they're fine," Carlos chastised.

"Should we go looking for them?" Alvin questioned.

Sarah walked into the kitchen then. "Daddy, what's going on?"

"Everything's fine, Sarah," Carlos replied, not wanting to scare his daughter.

But Sarah knew that something was up. She wasn't quite as naive as people thought, but she still didn't completely understand the situation. Luke and Alvin would head out to find the trio that had left that morning.

"Alvin, don't-" Rebecca cautioned her husband.

"Come on, Bec, you know I'll be fine," Alvin interjected. "We'll find them."

Rebecca sat down at the table and placed her hands over her protruding stomach, as if trying to calm the baby that was inside her.

Luke and Alvin headed out, and Carlos left the kitchen. Sarah sat next to Rebecca and began to talk to her.

"Alvin's strong, he'll be okay, don't worry," she reassured the woman, giving her a smile.

Just that reassurance alone seemed to calm Rebecca down a little. "Thank you, Sarah, that's sweet of you to say," she said. She looked down at her stomach and smiled. "The baby's kicking again. Do you want to feel?"

Sarah nodded vigorously, and placed her hand on Rebecca's stomach. She felt a little bump. "Wow!" she breathed, and looked up at the woman. "What are you and Alvin going to name it?"

"We're still not sure," Rebecca told her, rubbing her stomach again. "Hopefully we still have a bit of time to decide."

"Oh."

Sarah left the kitchen to leave Rebecca to her own devices, and read in the living room until Carlos told her that it was time for bed.

She awoke the next morning and got dressed as usual, and listened to voices at the top of the stairs. After a moment, she realized that Clementine had come back. But where were Nick and Pete? Their door was closed, but Sarah couldn't hear anything, so she entered.

_Now I can show her what I found!_ she thought excitedly.

Sarah pulled out the camera, leaving the gun for later. She walked out and saw Clementine starting to ascend the staircase, so she ran back to the bedroom, closing the door and getting into position.

"Say cheese!" Sarah yelled excitedly, clicking the picture button. "I found this under the house. There was all kinds of old stuff!"

A photo of a startled-looking Clementine rolled out of the camera. Sarah handed it to her.

"It's so cool!" she looked ecstatic. "Take one of me! Come on, take one of me!" She held out the Polaroid out to the younger girl. "Please?"

"Sure," Clementine agreed, taking off her backpack. Sarah handed her the camera.

"Get me in a good pose, okay?"

Sarah smiled sweetly. "Okay, I'm ready!"

And the picture was taken. Clementine looked solemn about something.

Sarah seemed to notice this. "What's wrong? Um, where's my dad?"

"You should know what's going on," Clementine crossed her arms.

"He told you not to tell me...didn't he?" Sarah hated never getting to be involved in anything.

"He is in trouble."

"Oh my gosh," said Sarah. She looked afraid. "What happened?"

"...Pete's dead."

What? Pete was dead? That couldn't be true. Sarah had liked Pete, he was always nice to her. She turned around, her anxiety building up, almost in the form of a panic attack.

"Sorry, I-I just need to..."

She sat down on the floor. hugging her knees to her chest, and began breathing, hoping to calm down.

Clementine sat down across from her, giving her a small smile. This seemed to calm Sarah down a bit, because the older girl smiled back. To take her mind off of Pete, she decided to show Clem the second item she had found.

"Want to see what I found?" Sarah went over to under the bed, and pulled out the Glock 17. "Will you show me how to use it? I couldn't find any bullets. If something's wrong, I should know! What if I have to use one?"

"Okay, but it's not a toy," Clementine told her firmly.

"I know."

"First, remember it's just a thing," the younger girl instructed.

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked, pointing the unloaded gun at the window. It was rather light.

"I...don't know."

"I thought it'd be heavier. Okay, what do I do?"

"The most important thing is, when you go to shoot, take a breath before you pull the trigger." Clementine grabbed Sarah's arm and held it out, unlocking her elbows. That seemed to be crucial, for some reason.

Sarah inhaled very deeply, holding her breath.

"Not that big," Clem reprimanded.

The older girl exhaled.

"What should I shoot?" Sarah questioned, accidentally pointing the gun at Clementine.

"Don't do that!" the latter shouted, ducking down.

"S-Sorry! Sorry!" Sarah stuttered. She didn't like being shouted at, but then again, did anyone? She walked over to the window. "Maybe I could practice outside..." She looked around. "There's that tree..."

Then, she saw someone walking around outside. "Hey, Luke's back!"

Sarah walked downstairs to greet him, but decided to look out the downstairs window before doing so. But something was out of place. It wasn't Luke walking, it was someone else. And he looked very familiar. She gasped and dashed away from the window, standing by a wall.

Clementine walked downstairs and stood beside her.

"That's not Luke..." Sarah realized nervously.

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**And there's Chapter 2! I hope to have the next chapter uploaded tomorrow, but until then, please leave a review! :D**

**My Episode Choices (All That Remains):**

**I tried to save Christa**

**I killed Sam the dog**

**I accepted Nick's apology**

**I gave water to the dying man**

**I saved Nick**


	3. An Unwelcome Visitor

**Thanks for reviewing! Oh, and just to make it clear, if you pinkie-promise with Sarah, Clementine will have a book beside her when she's eating, which explains the short interaction with Clem early in the chapter. :)**

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"Clem, I...I think I know him," Sarah pointed out fearfully.

The man knocked on the door.

"He can't see me! You have to make him go away!"

Sarah highly doubted that Clementine knew anything about the man knocking on the door. The man who was after their group. She had forgotten his name, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to even know what it was.

"Go and find somewhere to hide," Clementine instructed.

"Where?"

"Hello?" the man called, knocking on the door.

That voice. A voice that Sarah always feared, and one that she had hoped to never hear again.

Sarah's breaths became short. A panic attack was going to blow out soon if something didn't happen soon. "Clem, I can't breathe...I ca-I can't breathe!"

Clem shushed her older friend and tip-toed towards the door. She was about to go and lock it, but the person on the other side opened it. Sarah gasped lightly and stood frozen in her position.

"Hello there," the man greeted warmly.

_No, NO! He's only faking being nice, Clementine!_ Sarah thought.

"Hello," Clementine replied skeptically.

"How are ya?"

"Okay...how are you?"

"Well, I'm doing just fine, thank you," said the man. "My family and I are set up a ways down-river. I'm surprised we haven't run into each other yet. What's your name?"

_He's lying, he's lying, he's lying!_ Sarah told herself repeatedly. _He doesn't have a family!_

"I'm...Carley," Clem lied.

"Carley. That's a sweet name," the man replied. "Mind if I come in..._Carley?_ I've been out all morning and this heat has got me cooked."

Now was when Sarah knew that she had to hide. The man had definitely entered the house now, the fifteen-year-old not hearing whether he'd been invited in. The next words she heard made her tense up.

"Well, I'll cut to the chase," the man explained. "I'm out looking for my people. Seven of them, to be exact. They've been gone a long while, and...I'm worried they might have gotten lost. Maybe you've seen 'em."

"Oh, no..." Sarah whispered.

"Couple of farm boys and an old man."

_Luke, Nick, and Pete. But he's dead._

"Spanish guy and his daughter. Quiet girl, bit taller than you."

_That's...oh no...that's me and Dad!_

"A big black guy. This big. And a pretty little pregnant lady."

_Alvin and Rebecca._

"That's a lot of people to lose," Clem pointed out.

"Tell me about it. This whole damn thing's a pain in the ass."

Sarah watched as Clementine and the man went into the kitchen, but decided to stay in her hiding place behind the couch just in case. She silently prayed for her dad to come home.

They didn't stay in the kitchen for long, as they came out only a minute later. Sarah got up from behind the couch and moved over.

"Well, this is a real nice place," the man commented. "Kinda cozy."

Sarah heard him walk over to the other couch, and his next words scared her. "I knew a guy that always wore shirts like this. Doctor. Real smug son of a bitch. But a smart man. I miss him."

_Oh no, oh no, oh no,_ she thought. _Daddy, where are you?_

"What's his name?" Clementine asked.

"Carlos."

Sarah gasped ever so softly, and decided to take a risky move by sneaking up the stairs. Luckily, however, the man didn't see her. The floor creaked, causing her to jump. She went into Pete and Nick's room and quickly crawled under the bed just in case he had heard.

Clementine and the man entered the room, the latter pointing his gun all around. Clem looked down and was surprised to see Sarah lying under the bed. She hoped that the man wouldn't see her under there, too.

"I told you, nobody's here," Clementine repeated herself, folding her arms.

"Seems that way," the man responded, putting his gun away. "Didn't mean to be rude. Couldn't just leave you here with a good conscience if someone was pokin' around, right?"

"Sure..."

There was a moment of silence, then the man bent down and felt around under the bed. Sarah had scooted all the way to the end, but much to her horror, he took the photo that Clem had taken of her just minutes earlier.

"Who's this?"

"My sister. She's dead."

"Hmm, sorry to hear that." He paused. "You have no idea who these people are, do you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lemme ask you this," the man told her. "When you met 'em, how much did they trust you?"

"Well, they locked me up," said Clementine. "In a shed."

"If people don't trust you, how can you trust them?"

Clementine didn't say anything.

"Well, I think I've troubled you long enough," the man continued. "I can let myself out."

Sarah heard footsteps exiting the room and descending the staircase, as Clem called out, "Why shouldn't I trust them?"

But she didn't hear his response. That was when Sarah decided that it was safe to crawl out from under the bed, taking the photo of herself.

"Where is he?" she wanted to know, looking out the window.

"He's gone."

"What if he comes back?" This was a very real fear that Sarah had.

Clem didn't reply, just looked up at her. "Let's go downstairs and wait for everyone to come back."

"Okay."

For awhile, Sarah and Clementine just sat on the couch, not saying a word.

"We need to find the others," Clem decided.

"We can't go outside!" Sarah argued as the younger girl headed for the kitchen.

Right as the two girls entered, however, the group entered through the kitchen door, all unscathed.

"Clementine!" Luke cried.

"Sarah!" Carlos added in relief, as his daughter ran up to hug him, glad that he was safe.

"You were with Nick, right?" Luke continued. "We gotta go find him."

Sarah backed away and decided to speak the truth before something bad happened. "A man was here."

"What?" Carlos hissed.

"What did she say?" Rebecca demanded.

"Someone came to the cabin," Sarah announced.

"What?"

"Clementine talked to him."

"And you just opened the door for him?" Rebecca scolded Clementine.

"Calm down Rebecca," said Luke.

"Calm down? I am calm! You calm down!"

"I didn't open the door, he just came in!" Clementine replied.

"She's telling the truth!" Sarah added.

"Did he say his name?" Carlos questioned. "Did he say what his name was?"

"Maybe it wasn't him!" Rebecca tried to deny it.

"You know damn well who it was," Alvin corrected.

"I didn't ask his name," said Clementine.

"You didn't ask his name? How could you not ask his name?" Rebecca shouted.

"Look, Clem, just...tell us what he looked like," Carlos instructed. "What was he wearing? Did he sound...different?"

"His voice was...gravelly."

"He talked about you, Dad," Sarah spoke up, her voice a little shaky. "You're not gonna hurt anyone, are you?"

"Of course he won't, Sarah, alright?" Luke reassured her. "Your dad's the nicest man I know, which is why he's not gonna do anything crazy, or not nice, right?" His voice was a little slow during the last part.

Carlos placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "You know these are bad people, sweetie," he explained. "They will do or say anything to hurt us."

"Alright, what do you think?" Luke questioned Clem. "Did it seem like he'd be coming back?"

Sarah looked and felt ashamed. "He saw a picture of me."

"A picture?!" Carlos yelled, looking down at her angrily. "What were you doing taking pictures?"

"Carlos..." Luke said in a warning tone.

"What?!"

"You need to calm down, alright? You're scaring your daughter."

"I took the picture," Clementine announced. "It's my fault."

"No, she didn't!" Sarah was quick to defend her friend. "I took it myself."

"Sarah..." Carlos trailed off disapprovingly.

He paused, then continued. "He was scouting. We got lucky, he wasn't expecting to find us. Clementine must have surprised him. If she hadn't been there...Well, he was too smart to stick around. But he'll be back with the rest. We don't have much time."

"He's right," Luke agreed. "Everyone pack up. We're movin' out."

"Alvin, wait!" Rebecca called as she followed her husband out of the kitchen.

Carlos turned back around to face Sarah. "We have to leave now, sweetie, before he comes back with more bad guys. But it's gonna be okay. Let's just go get your things."

"Why did you leave his camp?" Clem inquired.

"Because we had to," Carlos explained. "Clem, I don't know what he told you, but William Carver is a dangerous man."

_Oh yeah, it's Carver,_ Sarah remembered the man's name now.

"He's the leader of a big camp not far from here, and he's very smart," Carlos continued. "We were lucky to escape. Look, I'm sorry to involve you, but now that he's seen you, you'll be safer with us. We have to leave."

Sarah left the kitchen then, with Carlos following suit.

"Dad?" the fifteen-year-old asked a little timidly as she packed some of her books.

"Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

Carlos paused for a moment. "We're not sure yet, Sarah, but we'll get somewhere safe soon, I promise."

Sarah felt a tiny bit better, and gave her father a smile.

"Are you done packing?" Carlos asked a few minutes later.

"Yup," Sarah nodded, holding up her bag. She had packed some clothes, books, and her stuffed animal. She and Carlos walked downstairs back to the kitchen, where everyone was waiting for them.

"Alright, everyone grab your stuff, let's hit the road," Luke called.

So everyone left the house, Alvin closing the door behind them. Sarah turned around and gave one last look to the cabin that she had called home for a little more than several months, and grown to love. She hoped they would return one day.

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**And that wraps up Chapter 3. I'm doing my best to keep everyone in character, so I hope it's good enough (even though most of this chapter was just dialogue from the game itself). Please leave a review! :)**


	4. The Road More Traveled

**Thanks to all that reviewed! Most of this is an "in-between" chapter, during the five-day trip to the mountains. A short chapter with a little fluff in it. :3**

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The group headed out of the cabin, first things were first, to find Nick. Sarah hoped that he was okay, especially now that Pete was dead. It was understandable if he wasn't, because the fifteen-year-old wouldn't know what to do if she ever lost her dad.

"Now, you said it was just up here?" Luke asked of Clementine, pointing forward as they walked.

"Yeah, just a little ways," Clem replied.

She walked over to the right, cutting off Rebecca, who was talking to her. The young girl walked towards a shed of some kind. Luke followed, taking out his machete. The rest of the group stayed where they were.

Much to Sarah's relief, Nick followed Clementine and Luke out of the shed, but his face showed that he was obviously upset. The group continued their walk, and after a short conversation with Clementine, Luke pulled out a map.

"I figure we got about four or five days to reach those mountains," he explained. "Now if they're trackin' us, we should be able to lose 'em up there."

"Five days?" Rebecca asked. She was concerned because the baby was due to be born pretty soon.

"It's gonna be okay, Bec," Alvin comforted her.

"We have to keep moving now, it's our only choice," Carlos pointed out.

"I bet the mountains look really cool," said Sarah. It had been a very long time since she had seen a mountain, and was looking forward to seeing some again.

Throughout the day, the group had to take frequent rest breaks (mainly due to Rebecca and the pain that her pregnancy gave her), and when it got dark out, they made camp where it was deemed safe.

"Everyone should get some rest," Luke announced. "We've got a long four more days ahead of us. I'll keep first watch."

So everyone pulled out their sleeping bags (Rebecca and Alvin had a double one to share, while the rest had their own), and got inside them. But Sarah couldn't sleep. Whether it was from being on the ground or something else, she didn't know. But she kept tossing and turning, she was wide awake.

"Clem? Are you awake?" Sarah whispered over to the figure in the sleeping bag beside hers.

Much to her surprise, the younger girl turned over. "Yeah."

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither."

Sarah sat up slightly, looking around. Carlos was in his sleeping bag a couple yards away, his body facing away from her. Alvin and Rebecca were out cold, and the girls could hear Nick's loud snoring.

"Do you want to stay up and talk?" Sarah suggested with a smile. "It can be just like a sleepover!"

"Um, sure."

"How old are you?" Sarah inquired, taking her red glasses and putting them back on. "I don't think you ever told me. I'm fifteen."

"I'm eleven." Clementine was quiet then, and Sarah thought she had fallen asleep until she spoke up again. "When's your birthday? Mine is October 24th."

"September 12th."

Sarah contemplated if she should continue her talk with Clementine. She hoped she wasn't being too annoying, but she really did want to get to know her new friend. "What's your favorite color?"

"I like purple, and blue," Clementine replied. She didn't seem to be annoyed at all, much to the older girl's relief.

"Oh. I like red and white."

There was a pause, and Sarah continued. "I kind of miss school. Even though there were these three girls who were always mean to me."

"Huh?" Clem was a little confused.

"There were these girls," Sarah explained, "their names were Jessica, Rose, and Tammy. They would always laugh at me and call me mean things." The young girl shifted uncomfortably, remembering her tormentors. "Jessica was always the meanest. She always threatened to beat me up for no reason."

"Did you ever tell anyone about it?" Clementine asked. "Like your dad?"

"No," Sarah answered sadly. "I wish I had now, though, but...when me and my dad were leaving the city, I saw Jessica. Two of those weird things, they were going towards her, and then she screamed. My dad told me not to look."

"Oh, I'm...sorry."

Sarah stayed quiet for a moment, then changed the subject. "Did you like school?"

She swore that she could see Clementine smile a little. "I did. I liked arts and crafts, and recess."

"My favorite subject was English!"

The two girls just stayed up and chatted quietly for the next hour or so, getting to know one another. They were beginning to get tired when Luke turned around and finally noticed them.

"What are you two still doin' up?" he asked, keeping his voice low as to not wake anyone up.

"We're just talking," Sarah responded, giving the young man an innocent smile.

"Well, don't come cryin' to me when you're both tired in the morning," said Luke. But he was smiling, letting him know that he was only teasing, but in a way still sounded like he meant it.

"We won't," said Clem.

Luke turned back around, and Sarah yawned a little.

"I'm getting tired, Clementine," she informed the younger girl. "Maybe we can talk more tomorrow?"

"Yeah, okay," Clementine whispered, turning over in her sleeping bag. "Goodnight, Sarah."

"Goodnight, Clem."

Sarah removed her glasses and got as comfortable as possible, falling asleep as she listened to Nick's snoring.

When she woke up in the morning, she was confused and a little scared for a moment because she didn't know where she was, until yesterday's events sank in. She looked to her right and saw that Clementine was still asleep.

So far, Rebecca and Nick were the only two that were awake, Rebecca sitting on a log by the dead fire and Nick nowhere in sight. Sarah put on her glasses and went to go sit next to Rebecca. The two chatted lightly until everyone else woke up.

"We'd better get moving soon," Carlos announced.

Sarah walked over to him as the group continued their journey.

"Morning sweetie, how did you sleep?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess," Sarah replied, rubbing her right arm with her left hand. "It felt weird to sleep on the ground, though."

"It's only for a few more nights, Sarah, then we'll be at the mountains, somewhere safe," Carlos assured his daughter.

"I hope so," said Sarah. Then, a happy thought crossed her mind. "Isn't Christmas in like, a few days? Maybe it'll snow, and the mountains will be all white and everything will look pretty!" She smiled up at him as they walked.

Carlos chuckled lightly at his daughter's innocence. "Maybe, Sarah. But it's going to be very cold."

"I wish we had a Christmas tree," Sarah admitted.

"Alvin, I'm _fine!"_ Rebecca insisted of her husband. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

"Bec, come on now," Alvin argued. "I want you to have the last of my water."

"Alvin, I-"

Sarah was listening in, and pulled out her canteen that she had filled with water at a river during one of the breaks from yesterday. "You can have mine, Rebecca," she offered kindly.

Rebecca smiled lightly at her. "Thank you, honey, but you need water, too."

"We can share if you want."

The woman sighed. "Are you sure? I'll be okay."

"Rebecca..." Alvin trailed off.

"Here, take it," Sarah extended the canteen to her friend. Bec took it reluctantly and took a drink of the fresh water. She looked slightly better, which was good. She handed the canteen back to Sarah.

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**Part of this chapter was inspired by heidipoo's fanfic Butterflies, a Clementine/Sarah story. I don't ship Clarah, but it's still really good. I highly recommend it, especially for those Clarah shippers out there.**

**Also, I have yet to play the season finale, No Going Back, which I can't do until Thursday. So if you could please refrain from spoiling it in the reviews (and not just for me, either), that would be great. :) **


	5. The Ski Resort

**Well, tomorrow is when I get to play No Going Back, so if there isn't an update until later, that's why. I don't even know if Clementine is alive or dead (though I did get spoiled for one death sadly). :/ Thanks for reviewing!**

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Three more days passed before the group got close to the mountains. Everyone began to feel tired from all that walking, but as long as no one else died, and Carver didn't find them, then they would be okay.

"Dad, look!" Sarah cried, grabbing Carlos's arm and pointing forwards. "I think I can see the mountains!"

"Finally," Rebecca breathed.

They all walked along slowly, their legs exhausted from so much walking, and sat down to take a break, Sarah sitting down next to Carlos. She got out one of her books and began reading. Clementine, being the smallest, climbed up a boulder and got out the binoculars given to her by Luke.

"See anything?" Luke called.

"She better see something. We've been walking for a damn week," Alvin added.

"We've got to find some shelter," said Carlos.

"There's a...lift or something," Clem announced.

"Chair lift?" Luke asked, looking at his map. "Must be that ski resort."

"I've...never went skiing."

"Bec and I went once," Alvin spoke up.

"It wasn't pretty," Rebecca laughed lightly.

Sarah watched as Alvin handed his wife an energy bar. "Here, eat this, Bec."

"There's a building on the mountain," Clementine told Luke.

"What's it look like?" the young man questioned.

"It's big."

Luke turned around to look at Alvin and Rebecca. "That sounds like a good place to spend the night."

_Maybe it can be our safe place, like Dad said!_ Sarah thought, a small smile crossing her lips.

"There's a little house by the bridge," Clem finished.

"How big is it?" Carlos asked.

"It's pretty small. And there's the bridge."

"Does it look passable?" Luke spoke up.

"I think so."

Clementine climbed down and stood by Luke.

"We have to cross that bridge, let's go," Carlos directed.

"Hold on now, we can't go sprinting across that thing, okay?" Luke disagreed. "If we get spotted out there, we're gonna be trapped."

Regardless, Sarah had put her book away and stood up.

"Going around that lake will take too long," Carlos retorted.

"Right, but...look, we've got no idea who's out there. Okay, I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over."

"You think splitting up the group is a good idea?"

"I never said it was a_ good i_dea. But it's better than risking everyone at once."

"What's your plan?" Alvin wanted to know.

"Clem and I can scoot across low and slow and make sure nobody's waitin' for us on the other side."

"We'll have a tough time covering you from back here," Alvin pointed out.

"We'll just turn back if it gets hairy."

Carlos paused, and glanced at Clementine. "Clementine should stay here. She's..."

"She's what?" Luke shot back, crossing his arms.

"She's just a little girl, Luke."

"She's a _valuable_ little girl. I mean, hell, if she can sew her own arm, she's fit to cross a bridge."

"I can do it," Clem agreed.

"See? No problem," Luke confirmed. "It's gonna be fine, okay? We'll signal you guys in ten minutes. Just watch for a light at the far side."

"I can go too," Nick offered.

"You stay with the group."

"I'm fine, Luke," the capped man insisted.

"I don't like this..." Carlos trailed off.

"Yeah, well, when's the last time you liked anything, Carlos?" Luke retorted.

_Don't be mean to my dad, Luke,_ Sarah thought.

"If something happens, I'll cover you!" Nick pleaded.

"Come on," Luke instructed of Clem, ignoring his friend.

"Luke!" Nick called, but Carlos approached him and pushed him back lightly.

"It might be best if you stay here," the doctor told him.

Since Nick didn't have any choice, he just grumbled like a spoiled child and went to sit on the boulder where Clementine had climbed up. Sarah looked to the other side after a few minutes, and saw a small figure approaching the bridge, stopping in front of the Clementine and Luke.

"Dad, I see something!" she announced so that only Carlos could hear.

Whether he had heard Sarah's outburst or not, Nick turned around and jumped.

"Oh, shit!" he yelled, grabbing his shotgun. He began running towards the bridge.

"Nick, get back here!" Rebecca shouted after him. "Don't do anything stupid!"

But Nick ignored her, only ran until he reached the bridge, then he began to walk quickly. Sarah couldn't really tell what he was doing, but she had a pretty good idea when a loud gunshot was heard.

"Come on, Sarah," Carlos guided his daughter gently. The remainder of the group began crossing the bridge.

"Who the fuck...was that back there?" Rebecca asked, sitting down on a log to rest.

"I don't know!" Luke cried.

"It looked like he had a gun on you," Alvin pointed out.

"That asshole drew on me!" Nick cried defensively. "He was about to shoot!"

"Oh, really?" Luke shot back.

"He drew on me first!"

"Well, that's not what it looked like to me."

Sarah went to sit down near Rebecca to get away from the arguing.

"What happened?" she asked, as if Rebecca or virtually anyone not on the bridge had the answer.

"Look, I know Pete was close with you, Nick, but I can't-" Luke began.

"Don't fucking talk about him!" Nick snapped.

"Are you okay, Rebecca?" Sarah asked timidly, trying to drown out all the fighting. She didn't like when people fought.

"I'm okay, Sarah, I just need to rest a moment," the woman reassured her as she rubbed her tummy.

"Hey Clem, you got anything to eat?" Alvin asked the youngest girl. "Bec's dying over here."

"Alvin, I told you, I'm fine," Rebecca insisted.

"Sorry, I'm out," Clementine replied, shrugging.

"Wish we still had those juice boxes."

"Yeah, me too," Sarah chimed in. She was a little thirsty, but never complained.

"That man said he had food in the station," Clem announced.

"Do you mind checkin' it out?" Alvin asked.

"Sure. Rebecca, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need a little rest," Rebecca responded, telling her basically what she had told Sarah.

"And some food," Alvin finished for her.

"Alvin..."

Clementine went over to talk to Nick, and handed him something. Whatever it was, Nick looked pretty happy about it. He got up to go talk to Carlos and Luke, and Clem went inside the little house.

"Hey Bec, I'm gonna go check on Clementine," Alvin told his wife a few minutes later, standing up.

Sarah, who had been relatively quiet up until this point, began to strike up a conversation with Rebecca once Alvin was inside.

"What happened when you and Alvin went skiing?" she asked pleasantly.

Rebecca couldn't help but smile. "It was about several years ago. That man...he just kept telling me that he was able to ski down the largest mountain, but he'd never had a lesson one. He ended up spraining his arm."

"Ouch, that must have hurt," Sarah flinched a little.

"Probably, but luckily he was okay."

"I broke my arm once too," the fifteen-year-old began telling a story. "I wanted to climb a tree down our block even though my mom and dad told me no. But then-"

A low moaning noise interrupted her. Turning around, Sarah saw some of those things, but she didn't know what people were calling them.

"We got a problem here," Alvin announced, walking out of the house. Clementine came out behind him.

"Yeah, we saw it," said Luke. "All right, we're heading up."

The group hurried up the mountain, the sky getting darker. Within a few minutes, they reached the ski lodge. It was a little bigger than Sarah thought.

"Sarah, stay behind," Carlos ordered.

She obliged, her arms crossed. Nick and Carlos stood near the resort entrance, looking around for anyone that might come out.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rebecca wanted to know.

"We have to be careful," Carlos warned her.

"Careful? We've been walking for five days. My back is done being careful."

The rest of the group reached the resort. Sarah sat down, as if waiting for something to happen. Rebecca sat on the bench above her. Sarah watched as Luke went over to speak with Clementine.

"I saw a bunch of kids playing by the tree, and I wanted to go play with them," Sarah continued. "So one day while my dad was at work and my mom was on the phone, I decided to go check it out-"

"HEY!" someone yelled, cutting Sarah off again.

The cabin group got up and stood at one place, three people standing at another. One was a bald man, another man with a mustache and beard (which oddly fascinated Sarah), and the last one was a woman with a thick accent. The man with the beard was the one who had spoken.

"What the hell are y'all doin'?" the mustached man continued, holding a rifle.

"Look, everybody just stay calm!" Luke, who had appeared out of nowhere, tried to reason.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded. "Are you trying to rob us?"

"Excuse me, honey, but do I look like a fucking thief?" Rebecca shot back.

"Everyone calm down!" the bald man added.

"No, you calm the fuck down!" Alvin argued.

"Sarah, get behind me," Carlos ordered, pushing his daughter behind him.

"Just tell us who you are!" the bald man continued.

"We ain't here to rob nobody!" Alvin replied. "Put the gun down, man!"

"Fuck that!" the mustached man yelled.

Clementine had heard this, and looked surprised. Sarah grabbed her arm to try and pull her back, but to no avail.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luke cried.

"Please, just do what he says!" the accented woman begged.

Clementine now looked really surprised, and pushed past Luke and Nick. The mustached man stopped, and looked just as surprised to see Clementine as Clementine was to see him. Did the two of them know each other?

"Kenny..." Clem found her voice.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Luke asked.

"Clementine...?" the man, now known as Kenny, spoke up.

At that instant, Clementine rushed forward and grabbed Kenny in a hug. Sarah smiled as she watched the scene.

Kenny knelt down and placed a hand on Clem's shoulder.

"I'll take that as a yes," the bald man decided.

"These people with you?" Kenny wanted to know. Clementine nodded, and he got up. His attitude had changed immediately. He pointed his thumb towards the entrance. "We can talk inside."

"Great, I just started dinner," the bald man piped up.

Sarah looked up at Carlos and smiled at him, but the latter still looked unsure.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"It's going to storm soon. Please, come in."

So the group began to walk inside. Sarah already felt much better. They were at a safe place, and on Christmas Eve too!

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**Oh God, I really hope Kenny's not dead. :'( I'm already so nervous. Again, please be respectful to those who still have yet to play the finale (myself included) in the reviews and leave spoilers out. Thank you! :D**


	6. Settling In

**I have now played Episode 5 (which was VERY heartbreaking, to say the least), but I'll ask one more time to please not spoil it for anyone else. Thanks, and thanks for reviewing! :)**

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The bald man opened the door, and Kenny and Clementine entered the ski lodge. The woman stayed outside and introduced herself to the group.

"My name is Sarita," she greeted. "Why don't you all come in? It's beginning to get cold."

Rebecca, Alvin, Luke, and Nick entered. Sarah tried to follow, but Carlos put a hand on her shoulder and held her back.

"Don't go in yet, sweetie," he chided.

"It's real pretty from out here," Sarah breathed, smiling. "I can't believe you have power!"

"The wind turbine helps with the electricity," Sarita explained. She turned to Carlos. "Your group is probably wondering where you are. It's nice and warm inside, I'm sure you'll want your daughter to be comfortable."

Carlos sighed. "Okay, we'll come in."

Sarita opened the door for them, and Sarah looked around at how pretty this place was. She breathed in, and could smell food cooking. Just then, she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and she brightened.

"Dad, look! A Christmas tree!" she cried.

"Not now, Sarah," Carlos scolded her.

"Isn't it great?" Sarita asked. "We found it all in storage."

"It's amazing!" Sarah replied.

Everyone paused, and then they put down their weapons. Good. No one was going to get hurt tonight.

"Good," Sarita seemed to read her thoughts. "If you all follow me, I'll show you all where you can sleep."

The group, minus Clementine, followed Sarita up the stairs. There was a hallway with several hotel-like bedrooms.

"Clementine and I can share this bedroom!" Sarah chirped, pointing at an unoccupied bedroom at the end of the hall. She looked up at Carlos and gave him the puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Dad? There's two beds!"

Carlos looked hesitant, but eventually sighed reluctantly. "Alright. You can share with Clementine."

Sarah beamed and went to put her backpack on the bed she wanted. It didn't take long for the group to pick out their rooms, and the moment they same downstairs, Sarita was there to greet them.

"Carlos, right?" she asked the Spanish man. "Mind if I steal your daughter for a secret mission?"

Sarah brightened, turning to her father. Again, he looked reluctant, but agreed.

"Stay in sight, sweetie," he directed, walking away.

Sarah approached the woman beside her. "What do you want me to do?"

"Would you like to help decorate the Christmas tree?" Sarita offered with a smile. "It will be more exciting decorating it with someone else."

"Of course!" Sarah grinned.

As the two females decorated the tree, Sarita began humming a song, and Sarah got curious.

"What's that song you're humming?"

"Good King Winceslas. It's my favorite Christmas song."

"What's it about?" Sarah wanted to know. She had never heard it before.

"Well, it's about a king that brings food to a poor man," Sarita explained. "The king and his servant march all night through a cold winter storm to reach the man. The storm is very strong. After a long time, it gets so cold that the servant can't go on. But the king tell the servant to just step in his tracks."

Sarita then began to sing some of the lyrics. Her voice reminded Sarah a little of her mother. _"Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly. Thou shalt find the winter's rage. Freeze thy blood less coldly."_

"I don't get it," said Sarah.

Sarita chuckled. "It means that doing good things for people can be good for you, too."

"But the servant wouldn't have been out there in the first place if the king hadn't made him," Sarah pointed out.

"Good point," Sarita replied with another small laugh.

"You're a good singer, Sarita," Sarah complimented.

"Why, thank you."

At that moment, Clementine approached them.

"Clem, we could use some help," Sarita told her. "Here, Sarah, you take this and string it up over there."

Sarah obliged, and Clementine took out some ornaments and began placing them on the tree.

"You knew Kenny before," said Sarita. "It must be incredible to see him again. When I met him, well, he's so different now."

"Did he say anything about before?" Clem questioned.

"No. He won't talk about before I met him."

"Oh..."

"Everything just takes a little...coaxing these days." Sarita looked up. "Perfect. Now we just need the topper."

"We always had an angel on top of our tree," Sarah remembered. She smiled, thinking about all the happy Christmases with her parents. Christmas in her house was always such a special time.

"My family didn't celebrate Christmas, but I still love the decorations."

Clementine walked upstairs to find a tree topper, and Sarah and Sarita looked at the tree. The eleven-year-old girl appeared at the top then, and placed an angel ornament at the top, making Sarah smile.

"She looks so cool!" she exclaimed.

Sarita looked up from examining the tree. "Beautiful. I used to love this time of year. You know, now that your friends are here, this place is starting to feel like a real home."

Sarah decided to cover the tree with some more ornaments while Sarita continued talking.

"Matthew and Walter are amazing people. Honestly, it's dangerous to be this kind. But they can't help it. Wait until you meet Matthew, he's quite a character. The first time I met him, he called me Rita. I call him Matty now. It's kind of our little war."

"What does Matthew look like?" Clementine inquired.

"Oh, he's a handsome man, a little shorter than Walter," Sarita explained. "He should be back soon."

She and Clementine talked a bit about Kenny, who suddenly appeared then.

"Well, you three have been busy," he noted.

"Kenny! Isn't it great?" Sarita asked. She picked up a box.

"I got it, hon," Kenny offered.

"I think I can manage, Ken."

"I said I got it," Kenny argued, practically snatching the box and taking it away.

_That was kind of rude,_ Sarah thought. Her father never snatched things away from her mother.

"Always has to play the gentleman," Sarita pointed out. "But I tell you, when I met him, he couldn't lift a fly. Why don't you go see if your friends are ready for dinner, Clementine?"

Clem walked back upstairs, and Sarah turned to Sarita.

"How did you meet that guy? Kenny?" she asked curiously.

"I found him holed up in an old restaurant, Gil's or something," Sarita responded. "That beard, you should have seen it then."

Sarah giggled.

"Well, everyone, dinner is served!" Walter called. "C'mon, let's eat!"

"Oh, boy!" Sarah smiled. She was definitely hungry.

Everyone walked to the two cafeteria tables, Sarah taking a seat between Alvin and Nick. She tasted the food, peaches and beans. It didn't taste too bad in her opinion, although peaches and beans weren't exactly her favorite food combination.

"You okay, man?" Luke asked Nick, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just..." Nick looked upset. "I wish I hadn't pulled that trigger."

_Did he make that loud gunshot we all heard earlier?_ Sarah wondered as she took a drink of water.

"Just try to forget about it." Luke turned around and noticed Clementine, inviting her over. But there was just one thing...

"Right here, Clem!" Kenny called her.

There was an empty seat next to Sarah (Nick was at the end), so she was hoping that Clementine would sit by her and fill that void. But she went over to sit near Kenny. Sarah understood, though, Clem had a connection with him.

There was a moment of silence at the table, until Luke spoke up.

"Hey Nick, you, uh, wanna come sit at the other table with me?"

"Sure," Nick replied, grabbing his bowl and following Luke.

Sarah pouted. She didn't mind Alvin, but she liked sitting by more than one person. Oh, well.

"Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the morning!" Kenny shouted at Nick.

"Who's Vanilla Ice?" Sarah asked Carlos.

"Just eat your dinner, sweetie, ignore them," he answered.

Sarah shrugged, but did as she was told.

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**The next chapter is the last one of Episode 2. Shit will be hitting the fan here pretty soon. Please leave a review! **


	7. A Returning Evil: End Of Episode 2

**Thanks for the reviews!**

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Sarah awoke to gunshots coming from outside. She had only been asleep for about an hour or so when they happened, but she got out of her bed and ran downstairs to see what was going on. Rebecca was already by the window, looking out nervously.

"R-Rebecca?" Sarah quivered. "What's going on? Where's my dad?"

"Everyone's outside," the woman replied nervously. "They'll be okay..."

Sarah's dark eyes were glued to the window, watching as some of the dead things were shot at, becoming a forever-long corpse. There were some more gunshots, these ones being rapid, and then some people appeared out of the forest.

Much to the fifteen-year-old's fear, it was Carver again. But he wasn't alone. He had two men named Johnny and Troy, and a redheaded woman named Bonnie. Sarah remembered them all clearly.

She watched in horror as Carver approached Carlos. The former said something, causing Carlos to spit in his face. Carver wiped it off, and promptly punched Carlos in the face.

"Dad!" Sarah cried.

"Sarah!" Rebecca tried to call her back, but it was no use.

Sarah ran outside and ran into her father's arms, shaking. She hid behind him, looking at Carver fearfully.

"Inside," Carver commanded, pointing at the lodge.

The two obeyed. Sarah folded her arms as she followed Johnny. Carlos placed an arm around his daughter's shoulder, which she was glad for. The two of them stood near the counter.

Carver smirked evilly as he began to tie their hands. He then looked at the shaking Sarah, and placed a cold hand on her cheek.

"Get your filthy hands _off_ of my daughter!" Carlos snarled.

"Sarah, is it?" Carver ignored him. He smiled down at Sarah in a fatherly gesture."My dear girl, can you tell me where Rebecca is?"

"I...I..." Sarah responded in panicking breaths. "I don't know! I swear!"

Carver glared. Sarah flinched, as if expecting to be slapped, but she didn't feel anything.

Bonnie whistled. "Look at this place!"

"Can you believe this fuckin' place, Bonnie? Power and everything!" Johnny marveled. "A lot of windows, though. It's fuckin' huge. Bill's gonna hate it. Now the rest of them could be anywhere."

Sarah watched as Clementine sneaked up the stairs, but she wasn't about to reveal her. Friends wouldn't do that.

"Man, how the fuck are we gonna cover these guys and look for them, too?" Johnny continued.

"Johnny, cover that window," Bonnie instructed.

Walter and Sarita then joined Carlos and Sarah, who were now on their knees and binded up. Sarah wondered where Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, and Kenny were. Were they able to escape? There was a long, profound silence.

"Dad, I-I'm scared," Sarah whispered quietly.

Carlos was about to reply when Carver suddenly grabbed his arm and hauled him up. Sarah looked on, afraid. Carver punched her father again, this time in the stomach.

"Dad!" Sarah gasped out. Tears filled her dark eyes.

"Listen, I'm only gonna ask you once. Where's Rebecca?" Carver demanded.

"Sarah, look at me," said Carlos.

The teenager did so. Her breaths came in short gasps, it seemed as if she were about to cry, or have an anxiety attack, or both.

"It's gonna be okay-" Carlos began. But Carver took his hand and bent one of his fingers backwards, causing it to snap. The Spanish doctor hissed out in pain, and Sarah could only watch, helpless and afraid.

"No!" she whimpered.

She began to cry quietly, trying to plead this bad man not to hurt her father.

"Rebecca! Our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety!" Carver yelled. "I know you're out there. And Alvin. And Luke. And the girl. This is real simple. You want this over quick, you play nice and show your faces."

"Don't hurt my dad! Please!" Sarah sobbed hysterically.

But Carver didn't listen, and decided to break another one of Carlos's fingers.

"DAD!" Sarah screamed.

Carver was about to break another finger, but Sarah's pleas only grew more and more desperate.

"Just stop! Don't hurt my dad, please!"

"Fuck you," Carlos hissed at the other man. "Shoot him! Somebody just shoot him!"

He was interrupted when Carver put a blade by his neck. The tears continued to flow down Sarah's cheeks uncontrollably.

"Please! Please!" she wailed.

"Say good-bye, Carlos..." Carver teased, getting ready to slit the doctor's throat.

"Don't look, sweetie, don't look," Carlos warned.

"Dad!" Sarah wept.

Luckily, Carver didn't kill him, but pulled his ears back instead. "You never did listen...let's see if I can get your attention."

He got up, and punched him in the face again. Sarah's sobs just wouldn't die down no matter how hard she tried. "Daddy! Daddy!" she bellowed. Carlos looked at her sadly, no doubt wishing that his daughter weren't here to watch this.

Carver grabbed one of Carlos's broken fingers and snapped it another time, causing the latter to scream out.

"Please! _Please,_ _stop!"_ Sarah begged.

"He's had enough now!" Walter added. "His daughter is already terrified enough as it is."

With that, Carver snapped another broken finger, and gave Carlos one last slap, sending him down. Sarah just looked at her father and continued to cry, but more softly now that her father wasn't being tortured anymore.

Rebecca and Alvin appeared to have surrendered now, and Carlos approached Rebecca, giving her a similar gesture to Sarah, a smile (only this one was more seductive-looking) and a stroke of the cheek.

"Fuck you, Bill," Rebecca hissed.

She and Alvin were tied up now and forced to their knees. Almost immediately after this, however, a gunshot was heard. One of the windows shattered, and Johnny fell down dead in an instant. Sarah screamed, and cried harder.

Carver walked over and hauled Walter up, only to force him on his knees again in front of everyone. He took out his own gun and shot Walter point blank.

"No!" Carlos yelled.

Sarah screamed again.

"That's for our man!" Carver bellowed. "Now, I didn't want to do this, but you ain't leavin' me much choice. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here, and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head. Or you can give up now. Your choice!"

He approached the group again, and time time, grabbed Alvin. "Hi, Alvin."

"Bill, no!" Rebecca pleaded. "Tell him to stop! Kenny, stop!"

Carver led Alvin over to the window, and the group wondered what was about to happen.

"We're comin' out!" Kenny yelled.

Bonnie went over and kicked open the door, where Kenny and Clementine were standing. "Let's go," she ordered.

By now, Sarah had stopped crying, and just stared at the floor. Alvin had now returned to his place.

"Finally cut and run, huh?" Carver asked. "Why am I not surprised?" He approached Carlos again, and Sarah thought that he was going to pull him up and torture him again, but he didn't. "I warned you not to follow him. Now look where he's led you. But we're safe now, and we're going home. As a family."

Carlos let out a grunt of pain, and Sarah whimpered.

"All right, round 'em up," Carver ordered. "We're heading back to camp."

One by one, the group was rounded up. Bonnie grabbed Sarah and pulled her up none-too-gently, causing the frightened teenager to let out a half-sob. Once they were all stood up, they headed out into the woods.

Sarah let out shaky breaths as the group wandered into the forest, Bonnie and Troy pointing their guns. She was returning to the place that she feared the most, a place she thought she would never have to see again.

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**And there's Episode 2, A House Divided. Now, a few of you have asked me what I'm going to do with Sarah, and I'm going to keep her alive. It may be a little hard for me to incorporate her in Episode 5, but I do have some plans that will make her quite useful. ;) Now, as always, please leave a review!**

**Also, I have a one-shot coming out this weekend that you guys will probably like. :)**

**My Episode Choices: **

**I took the blame for Sarah's photo**

**I sat with Kenny at dinner**

**I told Walter the truth**

**I convinced Walter to forgive Nick**

**I sought Kenny's help**

**Both Nick and Alvin are alive**


	8. Welcome Back

**Now we head on to Episode 3. Thanks for reviewing, heidipoo and Owen96!**

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_"So, do we have a plan?"_

_Luke was going over his way of escaping William Carver's dictator-like camp. Sarah, Carlos, Nick, Alvin, Rebecca, Pete, and Nick's mother, Helen, were all standing before him. _

_"We get out of here, and then what?" Rebecca wanted to know, her arms crossed._

_"We find shelter," Luke explained. "I don't know how far we'll have to walk, but we'll find something, okay? We'll be safe. We leave tonight, after the guards near this area are asleep. Reggie's going to help us."_

_At that, the door to the prison yard opened up._

_"GET YOUR LAZY ASSES BACK TO WORK!" Troy yelled at them as he walked in, holding a rifle. Bonnie was right behind him. "ANYONE WHO STOPS FOR A SECOND WILL BE SHOT!"_

_Sarah, then still fourteen years old, grabbed Carlos's arm fearfully._

_"This is the last time we'll ever have to do this, sweetie," he reassured her quietly. "Just try to focus on whatever task they make you do today."_

_That made Sarah feel slightly better. It was a long afternoon working with Bonnie and Pete on the wall, but nightfall eventually came. Luke and Nick had sneaked some weapons out from the armory, and were ready to go._

_Nick jammed an ice pick through a lock combination, successfully without making a lot of noise. One by one, the group quietly sneaked out of the prison yard and into the outside world. _

_There were quite a few zombies out and about, but not so many as having to walk through them. Carlos led his daughter away, not allowing her to watch as Nick, Luke, and Pete began slaying some of the walkers._

_An alarm sounded from Howe's Hardware, signaling that the group had been found out. But where was Reggie?_

_"Oh, shit!" Nick yelled. Everyone took off running, Carlos grabbing Sarah's hand._

_Once they reached the woods, Luke looked around and smiled._

_"Good, we're all safe. Let's go."_

Sarah shuddered as she remembered that night. Not the best thing to reminisce when you wake up on Christmas Day out of all days. Right now, the group (minus Pete and Helen, obviously) were sitting in the back of a large moving truck, waiting to be taken away.

The hatch opened, and there stood Carver and Troy.

"All right, if any of y'all gotta take a piss, I'd suggest doing that now," said Troy, glaring at everyone.

At that, Sarah stood up nervously and walked forward. Bonnie untied her wrists.

"You, go with her," Carver nodded at Clementine.

Clementine sighed and got up. Sarah waited for her, and they walked a small ways into the woods. The older girl walked away to do her business, and began to walk back over to where Clem was waiting.

"You about done over there?" Troy yelled.

"Yeah, one second!" Sarah called back. She turned to Clementine. "Thanks for coming with me, it's scary out here. I know they made you...it's still nice that you came."

"We're friends," Clementine responded. "Friends look out for one another."

"We are, aren't we?" Sarah agreed. "Well, if you need to pee, let me know. I'll keep lookout for you, too."

"Uh, okay."

The two girls walked back over to Troy.

"Everything come out all right, girls?" he asked. This was probably the only nice thing Sarah had ever heard him say, but disturbing.

Both Sarah and Clementine glared at him, however. How he could ask such a disgusting question was beyond them.

"Troy, get 'em tied up," Carver order.

"Will do."

He immediately grabbed Sarah's hand hard, causing the teenager to gasp out.

"If I find out that you've been wastin' fuel to keep the fuckin' heater going, I'll make you walk back," Carver scolded Troy.

"Nope, froze my ass off," Troy replied as he finished tying up Sarah. "Just like you told me to."

"It ain't polite to listen to other folks' conversations," Carver told Clem. "Has anyone ever taught you that? Where's your manners?"

"I'm sorry," Clementine looked at the ground.

"It's okay, honey. We'll chalk it up as a lesson learned, alright?" He turned his attention to Troy. "Get the girls in back with the rest of them. We've got a bit of a drive ahead of us."

The hatch was opened up, and Troy pointed his gun at the girls. "In," he commanded.

The two of them obediently entered the truck, Sarah sitting down next to Carlos.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarita asked in a concerned tone.

"The hell did he do to you? Hey! Did he hurt you?" Kenny questioned Clementine. He turned to the people outside, yelling as they closed the hatch. "Hey, HEY!"

For awhile, the ride to Howe's was relatively quiet. Even Sarah knew that there wasn't really any point in talking about the situation that was at hand.

"All right, we gotta do something," Kenny broke the silence. "Come on, anyone got anything sharp? Anything? We gotta get these bindings off! Hey, Clem. Help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut these."

"And what good would that do?" Rebecca wanted to know.

"What the hell is wrong with you people? We gotta get outta here."

"Like what?" Clem questioned.

"What do you mean, like what? Something sharp. Anything that can help. A fuckin'...I don't know! Anything! We're in a precarious position here, and we gotta do something about that!"

"Settle down, Kenny. They took everything," Carlos informed him. "We have to keep a level head."

"He's right, you don't know Bill like we do," Rebecca added.

_He's evil, and scary,_ Sarah thought, still looking at the floor.

"Bill? This whole time it's just Carver, Carver, Carver, now it's fuckin' Bill?" Kenny scoffed. "Oh, I see what it is. Y'all are just gettin' a ride home, aren't ya? That's what's goin' on here."

"Say that again," Nick hissed.

"I'd stay out of this, boy."

"Mister, I ain't a boy!" Nick defended himself.

"No, right, you're a _man,"_ Kenny taunted.

Sarah tried to tune out the arguing, not wanting to listen to anymore. She managed to block out some of it, but caught right back up after about a minute.

"I don't know what the fuck you're saying, but I know it's bullshit!" Kenny yelled at Carlos.

"Kenny..." Sarita tried to reason.

"You can't reason with him!" Rebecca cried.

Kenny looked over across his way. "Oh shit. Jackpot!" He stood up and began walking over.

"Sit down, you're going to get us all killed!" Carlos hissed.

Clementine tried to interject, but Carlos told her that the adults were talking, making Sarah a bit confused since she'd seen Clem act like an adult a lot of the time. But she decided not to comment as this argument was beginning to scare her.

"Ah, now we're talkin'!" Kenny cried, having gotten his bindings off.

"Carver will be on the other side with ten people," Carlos warned him.

Sarah began to cry in fear and worry.

"There there, baby, it's okay," Rebecca comforted her. "Everything's going to be fine."

Her words didn't help very much, but at least Sarah calmed down slightly.

"At this point, maybe Luke is the only hope we have left," said Carlos.

Some more words were exchanged, mostly by the ever-so-stubborn Kenny, before the truck began to slow down.

"We're close," Carlos pointed out.

"Okay, let's do this!" Kenny announced.

"They have guns, what exactly do you expect to do?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see," Kenny informed her. "Then I'm gonna take his gun and use it to shoot the _next_ sonuvabitch I see!"

He talked with Clementine, and then turned around. "Alright, everybody re-" He was cut off when he hit his head and landed on the ground.

"Kenny! Kenny, are you okay?" Sarita rushed to his aid.

"Is he okay?" Rebecca questioned.

"Oh...what hit me?" Kenny moaned.

"It's probably for the best," Carlos spoke up.

"These goddamn brakes aren't working for shit," Troy complained.

The hatch opened then, and there stood Troy, Bonnie, and a dark woman named Tavia.

"Alright, up and at 'em," Tavia commanded.

The group obliged, standing up and walking out. Just then, Carver's voice could be heard over an intercom.

_"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight,"_ he announced. _"Now I understand that some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us as they did."_

This place was just as Sarah had remembered it. Pounds and pounds of food, enough to keep people fed for years, and many workers and guards. The fifteen-year-old recognized two of them as Wyatt and Russell.

_"It might not come all at once...but time will heal these wounds,"_ Carver continued. _"So be patient with them until it does...and take solace in knowing that they're here to help us make our home a better place. All these feelings you have of anger, betrayal, fate...they're all valid. No one needs to forget what they did, but we do have to find it in our hearts to forgive them."_

The group was now in another room, with many guards at the top of all the shelves. Carver could be seen on an upper floor, still speaking blah on the intercom.

"Come on, we need you for something," Troy directed Carlos, beckoning him with his hand.

"Can't it wait until the morning?" Carlos asked. "We're all exhausted."

"Just come the fuck on."

Sarah appeared frightened then, not liking that her father was going to be taken away.

"I need him, I need my dad!" she begged. "I can't, he's...he looks after me!"

Troy only glared at her, and and she continued walking. Clementine appeared to be next to her.

"He'll be back," she said.

"When?"

"I don't know, but he _will_ come back."

"Thanks, Clem."

They all arrived at their destination, the prison yard. Sarah remembered it all too clearly. Bonnie then began to unlock the garage-like door.

"Make sure y'all stay off the fence," she cautioned, "Bill can see if you're messin' with it."

"Y'all best get some rest, 'cause there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow," Troy advised. "You're gonna be workin' hard."

Sarah looked at the uncomfortable "beds" she remembered having to sleep on. But she didn't want to sleep until Carlos returned, whenever that would be. Just then, a familiar man stepped in front of the group.

"Hey, guys."

"Reggie!" Rebecca cried.

Reggie was a nice man who had helped plan the group's escape, but there was only one difference this time: He had only one arm, as his left one was missing.

Rebecca went up to him and gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. What did they do to you...?"

"This could've been worse, trust me," Reggie answered. "I'm lucky to be alive."

"It's my fault," Nick said remorsefully.

"No, it's really not. I would tell you if it was. This happened well after you guys left."

Clementine must have looked confused, because Sarah began explaining. "Reggie helped us. When he ran away?"

"What happened to his arm?" Clem inquired.

"I don't know," Sarah replied. "We were all running out together, but then he fell, and everybody kept running. I know he had both his arms then."

As if to answer, Reggie began talking. "They got me working outside. Lurker snuck up on me while I was hammering something. Luckily they took the arm off quick. Saved my life."

"That's awful, I'm so sorry!" Rebecca repeated.

"Alvin, Carver wants you in his office," Tavia approached the said man.

"What? Why?" Alvin asked.

"Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that."

"No! Please!" Rebecca pleaded.

"It's okay, Bec, just get some rest. If he wanted to do something to me, he'd have done it already," Alvin assured his wife. "I'll be fine. Let's see what he wants." He turned and walked out, and the door closed down.

"Oh, right, let me introduce you," Rebecca told Reggie. "We were with them when we got caught."

"Hey, I'm Reggie," the one-armed man greeted.

"That's Sarita."

"Hello," Sarita greeted.

"And that's Kenny."

"Heya."

Reggie turned to Clementine. "Hello, who are you?"

"My name's Clementine."

"It's very nice to meet you, Clementine," Reggie replied, and the two shook hands. He turned to Rebecca and Sarah. "Where's Carlos?"

Sarah looked a little sad, so Rebecca decided to answer for her. "Bill's already got him looking at some folks."

"Okay, good. What about Pete?"

Rebecca and Sarah both looked down. Nick gasped quietly, and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Can you guys save it for the morning?" a new voice yelled out. "Some of us gotta be up early."

"Who's that?" Clem asked.

"I don't know," said Sarah. This was a new person, some man.

"I don't recognize the voice..." Rebecca trailed off.

"No problem, sorry about that!" Reggie called back, and then turned around. "Okay, that's Mike. He's kind of a dick when he's tired, but...like I said, he saved my life, so...I put up with that shit. Bill put him to work outside the wall with me."

Sarah and Clementine turned, and saw a young woman with very short brown hair, looking over at them with a frown.

"Who's she?" Clem asked once Reggie was done talking.

"Who?"

"That girl over there."

Said girl got up and went over to her place on the floor to go to sleep.

"Oh, yeah, right. Okay, so she's fuckin' weird," Reggie explained. "They found her sneaking outside of the camp covered in guts and just, the grossest shit."

"It's probably best not to stare," Rebecca whispered.

"I know how it must look, but it's really not that bad here," Reggie assured the group.

"Reggie..." Rebecca chastised.

"No, I'm serious. Where else are you going to find food like this? We've got the canned stuff, and with the greenhouses coming along, we've got fresh food. The building's getting more secure all the time...mostly through forced labor, but that's only temporary. They've even got the solar panels working! When was the last time you had electricity, huh?"

"Well, we just came from a lodge with a wind turbine, and-" Sarah began.

"It's not a competition," Reggie cut her off. "I'm just saying, it's not as bad as you think. We're building something great here, guys. A real community. Bill is making it happen. Look, I've made mistakes, and I know he's forgiven me."

"That doesn't make up for what he's done, Reggie," Rebecca scolded.

"I know that. But I'm starting to see what this place offers, and I didn't before, and with the accident...it's just that much more important now."

"Carver killed my friend Walter!" Clementine interjected.

The man was silent for a moment before continuing. "Okay, I don't know what happened, but...maybe he had his reasons-"

"His reason is that he's a crazy piece of shit!" Kenny yelled.

"Listen, I'm real close to getting let back into the group. Once that happens, I can do a lot more to help you guys be more comfortable."

Sarah didn't listen to much more until Rebecca spoke up again.

"I don't want a second chance, I just want to leave with my _family,_ that's _it!"_ she cried. She gasped slightly and placed a hand on her tummy. "I need to sit down."

"Yeah, come on," Sarita stepped forward. "Sarah? Can you go see if there's something for her to drink?"

"Okay," the teenager replied, going to do her task.

"Yeah, there's water over by the benches," Reggie told her.

Sarah went over to the benches and got a bottle of water to bring to Rebecca.

"Here, Rebecca," she offered, holding out the bottle. "I hope this helps."

"Thank you, honey," Rebecca smiled, taking the water gratefully.

"Hey, Sarah?" Reggie asked as the teenager took a seat in one of the chairs. "You can be good, right? Can you do that for me?"

Sarah nodded and smiled lightly. "I'll be good."

"Thank you."

She listened intently as Reggie talked to Kenny about what happened the day he'd got bitten and saved. Clementine approached her then.

"I'm trying to be good," Sarah informed her.

"What?"

"Reggie asked me to be good, so I'm being good," Sarah explained. "I don't want him to get in trouble. I'll talk to you later."

She felt a little bad that she practically just blew her friend off, but she just wanted Reggie to stay safe, and for Carlos to come back soon. Just when she was thinking that her father would be gone awhile, the hatch door opened, and in stepped Carlos and Troy.

"Dad!" Sarah exclaimed in relief, running to hug her father.

"All right, go the fuck to sleep," Troy ordered. "I'm shootin' the first one of y'all I see up wanderin' around before sun-up."

"Troy, where's Alvin?" Rebecca called.

"Everybody get to bed!" Troy ignored her, closing down the door.

So everyone settled in (less comfortably now) for the night. Sarah heard Kenny and Clementine discuss busting out of this place...again. She fell asleep almost immediately, hoping that they could leave soon.

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**So...this is mostly dialogue again. I have now realized that Reggie talks a lot. :P Also, sorry if the escape flashback scene was pretty crappy, I had a little trouble with that. Oh well, review? :3**


	9. Morning Of Mishaps

**Thanks for reviewing, now we shall head on.**

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"ALL RIGHT, YOU BUNCH OF BITCHES! UP! GET UP!"

Sarah's eyes snapped open at the sound of Troy's loud, obnoxious voice. She got down from her middle bunk and made her way to where everyone was gathered around in front of the garage door.

She turned around and saw that Clementine was still asleep. How she didn't wake up from Troy's hollering was beyond her. It seemed like she could sleep through a tornado or other event.

Troy walked over to the sleeping girl and kicked her a little more than lightly.

"Don't kick me," Clementine snapped. "It's rude."

"Get up, Bill's gonna have a word," Troy commanded.

Clementine got out of her bottom bunk and stood next to Sarah. Almost immediately, the door opened up, and in walked Carver. The man looked around, and began a speech. Sarah was only half-listening.

"There's been increased walker activity along the fence, so be mindful when outside the walls," he cautioned. "The herd's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know we're monitoring the situation. Now...there are some folks might be sore about what happened, at how things went. But that's all in the past now..."

He continued to talk about "loyalty" and whatnot, but by now Sarah had tuned him out completely. She leaned down to talk to Clementine.

"How'd you sleep?" she whispered. "I was so tired. I didn't even realize it."

"Pay attention," Clem told her. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay, yeah, sounds good," Sarah replied. But she wanted to say something else. "I just thought it was nice to finally-"

"Carlos!" Carver cut her off. This made both of the girls jump.

"...Yes?" Carlos asked.

"Your child seems to be in need of correction."

_What? What does he mean?_ Sarah thought. _I didn't do anything wrong!_

Carlos looked surprised. "I'm...sorry, I...Sarah, apologize to Mr. Carver."

Sarah looked down at the ground, and looked up. "S-I'm sorry, sir," she stuttered sheepishly.

"No, no. That ain't gonna cut it," Carver reprimanded. "I can't have this kind of behavior on day one of your reform. You discipline her now, Carlos."

"How do you suppose I-"

"One good smack across the mouth should do it. It'll make her think twice before opening it up again. Go on, we'll wait."

Carver wanted Carlos to _hit_ his daughter? Carlos never laid a hand on Sarah before, not even a spanking, as he didn't believe in that. Sarah looked at her father fearfully, realizing what was coming to her. And for no reason.

Carlos tried to get him to reconsider. "I...with my hand, I'm not sure with my hand that I could-"

"Well, that's why you got _two_ hands, Carlos," Carver interjected. He approached the doctor. "Come on. And not some namby pamby thing, alright? A good hard smack." Here he held up his hand for emphasis. "Otherwise, Troy here will do it for ya. I don't think you want that. He can be...overzealous. Is that the word?" He turned back to look at his main crony.

"If it means I'll slap the shit out of her, then yeah," Troy answered.

_I'm sorry! I'm sorry!_ Sarah's thoughts yelled at her. Her eyes began to well up. _I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!_

"Please, she's already scared!" Clementine tried to help.

"Hey, no one's fuckin' talking to you-" Troy yelled, but Carver put his hand up.

"Unless you want one of what she's about to get, I'd pipe down, missy," he scolded.

There was a short and tense silence, and then Carlos turned to face Sarah, an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Dad! I'm sorry!" Sarah finally found her voice.

"Close your eyes, honey, it's only going to sting for a second," Carlos told her, as if that would soothe her.

Sarah closed her eyes and turned away, knowing full well that she was about to be hit.

"Do it!" Carver ordered.

Sarah felt a sharp, stinging pain on her cheek then. Carlos had slapped her so hard that she fell to the ground. The poor, miserable girl began to sob quietly, holding her cheek. She felt so upset and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Sarah-" Carlos began, approaching his daughter to comfort her.

"Stop! You're not coddling that girl anymore!" Carver yelled. "Let her sit there and think about what she's done. Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else should have their assignments. It's time to get to work."

Troy walked over and stood over Sarah, who was still crying on the ground. "Goddamn, you really knocked the shit out of her, Doc!"

"Everyone get to work!" Carver ordered.

"You're working in the armory. Follow me," Tavia told Clementine.

Sarah heard some more voices and something fall, but she was too upset to interfere with what it was. She watched as Clementine left, and for the time being, she was all alone in the pen. But that didn't last too long.

"Quit yer blubberin' and get the fuck up!" Troy commanded, glaring down at Sarah. "Come on. Bill wants you on the roof."

Sarah shakily got up and began to follow him out of the pen. They passed by some store shelves, and a familiar voice was heard.

"Ugh, well, look who it is. The queen of crybabies."

The voice belonged to Becca, a slightly older girl that Sarah had tried so hard to befriend when she was first placed here. Sarah never did anything to her, but Becca always seemed to be annoyed by her for some reason, and seemed to think of her as immature and whiny. She reminded Sarah of Jessica, her main tormentor who had probably died in the early days.

"Becca, stop it," Becca's older sister, Shel, chastised. "She doesn't need to hear it right now."

Sarah only glanced at them and walked away, wondering why people were so mean here.

Troy opened the door to one of the greenhouses and literally pushed Sarah inside. "Get to work. Don't be a little fuck-up like you were earlier." He gave her one last glare and slammed the door.

The poor girl went to sit at a corner, hugging her knees to her chest. She began to whimper and cry lightly, still trying to grasp the fact that Carlos had actually hit her. He didn't want to, he was forced, but he still had. Why did people have to be so mean?

Sarah didn't know how long she sat there, but soon she heard Clementine's voice. "Hey..."

She didn't answer.

"You...want a hug?" No, not really. After a brief silence, Clem spoke again. "Okay...well, I owe you one for later, then. You might not know when it's coming though, but...I could sneak up on you when you're not expecting it."

"My dad's never hit me before," Sarah murmured, rocking slightly. "Even when I was really bad, he never hit me."

"He didn't want to do it, Sarah. Carver made him," Clem reminded her. "He's the bad guy, not your dad. So, in a weird way, Carver's the one that hit you...not your dad."

"I guess so," Sarah realized. She rubbed her stinging cheek. "Well, then Carver hit me super hard, 'cause it still hurts like crazy."

"Yeah, it looks like it."

"Thanks...for trying to help." The teenager began to rock again slightly. "I don't know why people have to be so mean. Even when I'm really mad, I still don't want to hurt anyone."

At that moment, the door opened again, and in walked Reggie and Tavia.

"Don't mess this up," Tavia warned.

"Yeah, I get it," said Reggie.

Tavia turned to Clementine and Sarah, who had gotten up from the corner. "Reggie's in charge here, okay? Listen to him carefully."

"Yep, no problem, Tavia," Reggie agreed cooperatively.

As Tavia left, closing the door behind her, Reggie continued. "Okay, we gotta do a good job here, guys. The camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do. It's super easy."

The girls walked over to where some blueberry plants were sitting on a table. "Pick up a pair of those shears," Reggie instructed.

Clementine did so, and after a moment of hesitation, Sarah did too.

"Okay, so we're picking these berries, right? Just pick them, put them in the basket. Simple. And while you're at it, if you see any dead branches, take those shears and cut them off, and stack them neatly for composting. Got it?"

Sarah barely paid attention, just stared at the shear that she was holding. Being slapped today had really shaken her up to the very core of her being. She could hear Clementine and Reggie talking about her, and then she heard Clementine approach her, and looked at her when she spoke.

"Hey. Here, watch me."

Clementine used her shear to snip one of the dead branches off of Sarah's plant, showing her how to do it. To say the least, Sarah had a little trouble, even after fifteen minutes.

"This isn't that hard, Sarah," Clem told her.

"I know, I'm just afraid I'll make a mistake," Sarah replied nervously. She didn't want to get Reggie in trouble.

"It won't be the end of the world if you do. Just keep going."

They heard a door open. Carver was coming up, possibly to check on their work progress.

"Oh, shit," Reggie cursed.

"Oh no," Sarah muttered.

Reggie looked over at the other table, where Clementine's work had gone untouched. "You didn't do any of your work, Clem!"

Sarah gasped fearfully as the greenhouse door opened, and Carver entered.

"Just checking in. See how the new girls are working out," he announced. He looked at the empty basket on Clementine's table, and then he looked angry. "Reggie..."

"Yeah, Bill. Hey," Reggie greeted nonchalantly.

"What the fuck happened in here?" Carver demanded.

Reggie began stuttering. "Look, Bill, they're new, and me with my arm, it's just not the eas - I just have - I have one arm, so-"

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut the fuck up. You better have an explanation for this. And I mean now."

"Bill, please. Just...just-"

"Sounds like you were about to give me an excuse when I asked for an explanation."

"It was my fault," Clementine piped up. "I guess I didn't show Sarah well enough. I guess..."

"Nah, this ain't your fault," Carver shrugged her off. "We talked about this, Reggie, didn't we? But you just don't get it, do you?"

"I...I..."

"Why don't you girls wait outside? Reggie and I have a few things to talk about."

Clem and Sarah obediently walked outside, the latter with her arms crossed and a downcast expression on her face. When they got outside, Sarah walked over to the edge and looked down.

_I got Reggie in trouble. I got Reggie in trouble. I got Reggie in trouble. _

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Clementine asked, concerned for her older friend.

Silence. Clementine tried to talk to her again. "Are you okay?"

The door burst open, and out stepped an enraged Carver, and Reggie, who was panicking.

"I gave you plenty of chances!" Carver yelled.

"NO, NO, NO, NO! PLEASE, BILL! NO! NO! NO! NO, PLEASE!"

But Carver didn't listen, and immediately pushed Reggie, sending him falling from the roof. Sarah gasped lightly when she saw blood coming from his head. He was dead. Carver had straight-up murdered him.

"Weakness...incompetence...it puts us all at risk, and won't be tolerated," Carver began running his mouth again. "You think about that, the next time you're asked to do something."

Sarah didn't know if he was talking to her, or Clementine, or both of them. She began breathing heavily.

"Get downstairs," Carver ordered Clementine. "Bonnie's got some stuff for you to do. Go!"

Clementine walked off, and Sarah stiffened when Carver walked over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her that same smile given to her back at the lodge.

"I...I..." Sarah stuttered, afraid that he was going to throw her off, too.

"Now, I'm not going to hurt you," Carver assured her. "I just have to let you know a few things, and hope that this experience teaches you a lesson. When you're weak, you're as good as dead. Reggie was weak, which is why I had to do what I did. Do you understand?"

"I-I guess so," said Sarah, looking down.

Carver smiled. "That's a good girl. That's how you'll need to stay, if you don't want your daddy to hit you again."

Sarah gasped slightly, and began shaking.

"But I doubt that will happen, because you're going to respect your elders from now on, am I clear?"

"Y-Yes. sir."

"Great. Now, you're needed with Shel and Becca in helping with the dishes. I'll take you there."

Sarah nodded, and followed Carver downstairs, her arms crossed again and her face looking solemn, especially with after what happened to Reggie. They headed into the kitchen.

Upon noticing her, Becca made a face mixed with pure annoyance and disgust, making Sarah glance away. Carver gave the fifteen-year-old a nod, and walked out.

Much to Sarah's relief, Nick was there too, rinsing off a plate in one of the sinks. She decided to avoid Becca (although she was probably talking about Sarah behind her back again) and work with him.

"You okay, kid?" Nick asked, noticing her expression.

"I'm fine," Sarah lied. She hated lying, but she didn't really want to tell anyone about what had happened on the roof.

Nick handed her the plate and offered her a small smile. "Here, I'll let you dry."

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**I was pretty disgusted with how Sarah was treated basically from this point on, so it was kind of painful to write this chapter. :/ Also, I didn't know what Carver would want to talk to her about, so I just incorporated it from my imagination and hope that I didn't mess up his character. Oh well, please make sure to leave a review!**


	10. Kenny's Plan

**Thank you for the reviews, and I agree with all of them. :P Also, please be sure to check out my one-shot, Reunion, if you haven't already! :D**

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After a long day of multiple chores, the majority of the group had returned to the pen. Sarah didn't speak at all that day, after the Reggie incident, unless she had to give a direct answer. She was now sitting quietly, listening to what Kenny had to say. It turned out that Luke was hiding in the camp somewhere, and now Kenny had plans to escape this hellhole prison.

"It's only been a day and I'm already done with Carver's shit," he announced. "And who's to say that he won't go after another one of us? 'Cause we all know what happened this morning. I don't know what that sonuvabitch is gonna do next!"

"So you wanna ring a dinner bell for a herd of walkers to show up?" Mike argued. "How is that any better?"

By now, Clementine had reentered, and was sitting in the last unoccupied chair.

"'Cause this place will be fuckin' chaos when that thing hits! No one will be payin' attention to us! And that's when we go, that's our opening. We just gotta figure out a way to draw 'em to us."

"Your friend here wants to get us killed by lurkers before Bill can do it," Rebecca informed Clementine.

"What is it with you?" Kenny snapped.

"That's what it sounds like to me."

"You know that's not what he's saying, but...it does sound dangerous," Sarita pointed out.

"This shit is all dangerous!" Kenny retorted.

If Sarah had been asked to describe Kenny at this point, she would probably say that he talked very loud.

"Kenny! Do not speak to me like that," Sarita scolded, as if she were a mother.

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Maybe Luke could help us, he's outside," Clementine put in her two cents. "He wants a radio to help keep an eye on the guards."

_Wait, Luke is here?_ Sarah thought. _I haven't seen him... _She had only finished her day's work about an hour earlier, so she hadn't seen Luke or really anyone in her group.

"Thank you!" Rebecca agreed. "That's the plan I vote for."

"You know about Luke?"

"He flagged us down when Troy wasn't lookin', told us his plan," Mike explained. "Mentioned that he talked to you."

_Oh._

"If Luke can tell us what's going on with the guards, then we can use that to pick a good time to escape," Rebecca suggested.

"That sounds reasonable," Sarita told her.

"Who knows when that'll be?" Kenny shot back. "There was a girl back at Crawford that used church bells to send walkers all over the city. We just need something really loud.

"The PA system Carver is always using is quite loud."

_Yeah, it hurts my ears,_ Sarah thought innocently.

"There's some speakers outside the building, pointed towards the parking lot," said Mike. "I saw 'em when we were walking out to the work. Troy's always standing next to one of them."

"He's right, I saw them too," Clementine replied.

"Really..." Kenny trailed off.

Rebecca was silent for a moment, then began talking. "It's all controlled in Bill's office. There's a switch in there that'll turn them on."

"How do you know that?" Mike inquired.

"...I used to make a lot of the announcements back in the day. I had it flipped on once...luckily there wasn't much around at the time to hear it. But it was plenty loud, though."

"That's perfect! We just gotta get into his office," Kenny agreed. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"'Cause it doesn't change anything," Rebecca responded. "This isn't a discussion about how to do it, it's a discussion about whether it's stupid. And it's still stupid. The only sensible thing is to get Luke the radio and wait for an opening."

"You're real difficult to deal with sometimes."

"We should get the radio to Luke," Clementine decided. "It doesn't hurt to have more information."

"I agree," said Sarita.

"Fine, fine, we can do that, but the herd is still what's gonna get us out of here," Kenny reminded them. "Maybe Luke can tell us where it's heading from." He paused, and went over the plan again. "Okay, so we get that turd a radio, he keeps us posted on the herd's movement. We fire up the PA thing and bring the walkers to roll over this place."

"And then what?" asked Mike.

"Get some guns and shoot our way out. I don't know, whatever we can! We improvise."

"Than that's not a plan. You don't _plan_ to improvise," Mike argued.

"I figured out what your problem is...you don't think this stuff through," Rebecca told Kenny. "If the end of the plan is just to stroll through a herd of walkers, then you should know from the jump that there's no way it's ever going to work."

"Actually," a new voice spoke up. "I do it all the time."

The group turned around and noticed the quiet girl speaking. Her name was Jane.

"First words I ever hear you say and it's just some crazy, stupid shit," Mike almost scoffed.

"Hush," Sarita silenced him, and then turned back to Jane. "What do you mean exactly?"

"When you cover yourself in their smell, rub the walker guts all over you," Jane explained. "They can't tell you from one of them."

"That's gross," Sarah whispered so quietly that no one could hear her.

"Now I don't know who's crazier," Rebecca announced.

"Trust me, I've walked through herds before, it works," Jane continued. "You just have to keep calm, and make sure you're good and covered."

"Lee figured that out," said Clementine.

"What?" Kenny asked, shocked.

"It's how we got out of the Marsh House. Lee covered me and we walked right through."

"Really?" Kenny smiled. "Holy shit. Good one, Lee."

Sarah had heard Clementine mention this Lee guy on several occasions. He seemed smart, and Sarah knew that she would have liked him.

"All right, what are we waiting for?" Kenny continued, standing up. "Let's get that stupid radio."

"We still need to find a way into the stockroom," Rebecca pointed out.

"I've got a plan for that, too," Jane added. "Come on, kid. Gonna need your help."

"Where the hell'd she come from?" Kenny questioned, pointing as Jane and Clementine walked to the corner.

_Clementine does everything,_ Sarah seemed to notice. _But she's just a little kid. _

Everyone else walked over to the two females as Jane discussed the plan.

"That thing breaks all the time," Rebecca noted. "Unless something's changed, it won't support much weight."

"Come on, now or never."

"Don't push her, Kenny," Sarita scolded.

"She's our best bet. I mean that, Clem."

"It seems pretty flimsy," Clem agreed with Rebecca.

"This plan? Yeah, I agree with that," Kenny folded his arms. "Clem, it's you or nobody, so you're nominated. Okay, we gotta get that rope down. Mike, you wanna boost her up?"

"Come on, kid," Mike directed.

"Don't let go," Clementine ordered as he picked her up.

She began pulling down the rope. Sarah was a little uncomfortable with how fast it was coming down. Her confidence grew when she saw a hook at the bottom where her younger friend could stand.

Mike began pulling the rope back up. "Try to hurry, alright? I don't think they're the sharpest guards in the world, but they're no idiots, either."

As if on cue, they all heard footsteps approaching.

"Shit, he's coming back!" Mike cried. "I gotta let you go, I can't stand here! Grab something!"

Clementine let go of the rope and grabbed onto the ladder cage. She began to climb up, and she was out of side. Right after this happened, however, the door opened up, and in walked Troy, Bonnie and Carlos.

Sarah ran to her father and hugged him tightly. She knew that he felt genuinely terrible for having to slap her that morning.

"Get to bed, right now, you lousy pissants!" Troy roared, waving his shotgun all around. He looked around. "Where the hell's Clementine?"

"She's asleep," Sarah replied a little too quickly. Carlos placed a hand on her shoulder and backed her up slightly.

At first, it seemed as if Troy didn't believe her, and glared. But much to her relief, he didn't try anything.

"Whatever, just go the fuck to sleep," he ordered. "I'll be back to make sure y'all aren't up and wanderin' around." He and Bonnie turned and left the pen.

Kenny muttered a swear word under his breath as he followed the group to their bunks.

"I wonder if she'll be okay up there," Sarita spoke up.

"She'll be fine, hon," Kenny replied. "Clementine's the strongest kid I know."

Sarah was about to fall asleep when she suddenly heard a "Psst!" With that she sat up and looked over. Clementine was beginning to climb the ladder. She watched as Mike caught her when she fell.

Clementine walked over to her bunk and stood in front. Kenny sat up slightly and talked to her.

"Well?"

"Come on, Clem, don't keep us waiting," Sarah added quietly.

The eleven-year-old pulled out the radio from her back pocket. "Got 'em!"

After she lay in her bunk, Kenny spoke to the whole group. "Everybody stay where you are. No need drawin' suspicion."

Sarah lay down to go to sleep, and whispered down to her friend, "That was so cool."

"Good job, Clem," said Kenny.

"I told you you probably wouldn't die," Jane praised. "Nice job."

"Thanks," Clementine replied.

"Yup. Anyway, get some rest."

All was silent for a couple moments, before Sarah heard Kenny's voice pipe up again.

"I thought about Duck today. About his dumb little face."

_Who's Duck?_ Sarah thought. She had never met someone with that name before.

"First things that always come to mind are always the dumb things he was doin'...Kid was always runnin' in circles. Every place we went, he'd just run. Couldn't stop him. Makes it harder to remember that he was a good boy."

Sarah felt sad then. Duck was probably Kenny's son or something, and he'd died. She fell asleep thinking about him.

"Alright, everybody get up," Kenny announced the next morning. "I'm callin' a meeting."

Sarah, Clementine, Sarita, Rebecca, Mike, and Jane gathered around a table with the walkie-talkie on it. Carlos was probably called to work early this morning. Kenny was standing in front of it, waiting for everyone in the pen to gather around.

"Alright, we're all here," he announced.

"Someone's got to get the radio out to Luke. What's the problem?" Rebecca asked.

"We should probably figure out who's doin' what before we-"

Kenny was cut off when the door opened up, revealing Tavia.

"Time to get up," she called. "Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered."

"Um, where's my dad?" Sarah asked.

"He's where the rest of you are going," Tavia almost snapped. "To work. Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Jane, if you gotta take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for awhile. Troy will be coming out for the rest of you."

"Why just them?" Kenny asked.

"Like I said, Troy will be coming for the rest of you."

Sarah used the bathroom and washed her hands. When she walked out, Becca was waiting for her, glaring and crossing her arms.

"H-Hi, Becca," the younger girl spoke barely above a whisper, looking at the ground.

Becca rolled her eyes like the brat she was. "Bill wanted me to come get you. They want us to put together weapons."

"Weapons?" Sarah squeaked.

"Oh, don't be a baby," Becca scoffed. She walked away, waving for Sarah to follow.

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**There's Chapter 10. Most of it was just game dialogue with not many lines from Sarah (:/), but the next two chapters of Episode 3 will. As always, please review!**


	11. A Radio For An Eye

**Thanks for the (quick) reviews. XD**

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Luckily for Sarah, Becca was sent off with Tavia to work on some other task, so she was left with Shel (who was generally nice to her) to work on the weapons. Shel had to assist her a little bit, but didn't seem to mind. It was now around mid-afternoon.

"Okay, good," Shel praised when Sarah was able to put together the trigger. "Now you-"

The door opened, and in walked Tavia, holding her rifle and wearing her usual angry face. "That's it for today, Sarah. They want you back in the pen."

Sarah was confused, since they usually had to work until dinnertime, but put down the gun and followed Tavia back to her "home." What was going on inside shocked and horrified her. Of course it involved Carver.

Carver was hitting and punching Luke repeatedly, causing Sarah to gasp out and run towards Carlos.

"Don't look, Sarah," Carlos whispered.

Carver slammed Luke down one last time, when a cracking noise was heard. Luke let out a cry of pain. Carlos rushed over to him and knelt by him. The rest of the group was in shock, not knowing what was even going on, and why. Sarah stood close to Rebecca.

"We put our faith and our trust in you," Carver explained. "Hell, you all could have been let out of this pen and been upgraded on your living quarters within a few days. And how is it that we're repaid for our trust? With treachery? With deceit? With theft!"

No one said anything, and they all knew what was happening when Carver held up one of the walkie-talkies.

_Oh no, oh no,_ Sarah thought, her anxiety building up._ I can't breathe... _Rebecca placed a hand on her back to calm her, which luckily worked.

"Whatever you were planning is over, it's done," Carver scolded. "You can't just run from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough...'cause there's nowhere else you can go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now. Get that through your fuckin' skulls. Luke here, he can't help you now. You gotta help yourselves. You gotta help me find the strength to forgive you. Now you can start by telling me where the other one is."

Mostly everyone knew that Clementine had the other radio, but no one was about to call her out. Not when she was so useful.

"I'm gonna count to three. If that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult. One..."

Silence.

"Two..."

Clementine opened her mouth to speak, but closed it.

"Thr-"

"I got it right here!" Kenny yelled, holding up the radio for all to see. Sarita looked afraid, and he turned to her. "It's all right." He walked forward. "Sorry about that, not sure what I was thinking."

The bearded man dropped the walkie-talkie into Carver's hand.

"Three," Carver finished.

"Heh. Fucker," Kenny muttered.

Almost immediately, Carver hit Kenny in the left eye, leaving the rest of the group even more shocked and horrified.

"No!" Sarita screamed, beginning to cry.

"My God!" Luke cried.

"Jesus Christ! Stop!" Nick exclaimed.

_Stop hitting him! Please stop hitting him!_ Sarah thought, but she was too afraid to yell it out.

"Stop him! Somebody stop him!" Sarita shrieked. She attempted to run over, but Carlos held her back. "Let me go!"

"Troy, do something!" someone else demanded. Sarah couldn't tell who in all this chaos, however.

"Stop! Clementine, help me!" Carlos called over to the little girl.

"You don't have to do this, Bill!" Nick pleaded.

"NO! STOP IT! KENNY! KENNY!" Sarita shrieked, desperately trying to free herself.

But Clementine either didn't listen or didn't hear him. She began to charge towards Kenny, but was met by the end of Troy's rifle. Troy hit her so hard that she fell to the ground, a gash already forming on her right cheek.

"You little shit," Troy hissed at her.

Sarah's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide. There was violence going on left and right, with Kenny and Clementine now both being hurt. She began whimpering at this, and Rebecca turned to her and began to comfort her.

"They'll both be fine, sweetheart," she whispered into Sarah's ear. "They're gonna be okay. Don't worry."

Sarah sniffled and nodded, but just wanted to stay close to Rebecca for now, and gave her a long hug.

"Bill!" Bonnie called as she entered. "That's _enough,_ Bill! Please! There's a breach!"

Carver hit Kenny one last time, sending him down. Clementine just lay there on the ground, and it looked like she was about to fall into unconsciousness.

"Alright, everybody come with me," Carver ordered, tossing the radio aside. "Bonnie, you stick around. Make sure these folks don't get into anymore trouble."

"Yeah, okay," Bonnie agreed.

Carver began walking out, but turned back. "No supper for y'all tonight. Maybe an empty stomach'll give you some perspective. We'll try this again tomorrow."

Sarita and Carlos were now looming over Kenny, while Bonnie was rubbing Clementine's shoulder to comfort her. The rest of the group had nothing to say, and Sarah still shivered in Rebecca's arms.

"Do your best with him, Carlos," said Bonnie. "You need to get him able to move, 'cause we're leavin' tonight." After receiving surprised looks from Carlos, Luke, and Rebecca, she repeated herself. "We're leavin' tonight."

Carlos glanced down at Kenny before nodding. "All right. Nick, can you please help me carry him over to the bed so I can have a look at him?"

Nick nodded and rushed over, getting Kenny's lower body while Carlos grabbed the upper. Sarah let go of Rebecca and watched as Kenny was laid on Rebecca's bed. Luke walked over and gathered Clementine in his arms, and went to place her on her bed so she could rest.

"Sarah, can you hand me that bandage over there, please?"

Sarah reached over and handed Carlos what he needed. It was about one or two hours later now, and it was dark out. Kenny and Clementine were still out of it, and all was mostly quiet except for Sarita's sobs.

"Dad, will Kenny be okay?" Sarah asked innocently.

"I don't know, honey," Carlos replied truthfully. "His eye is in terrible shape. It may have caused damage to his brain."

"Oh," Sarah looked at the ground.

"Why don't you go check on the others?" Carlos suggested. He glanced over, and turned back to Kenny.

Sarah nodded and walked off. She approached Sarita, who was crying into her hands. Rebecca had an arm around her shoulder and was whispering soothing words to her.

"Are you okay, Sarita?" Sarah inquired.

"She's just worried about Kenny, Sarah," Rebecca informed her.

"My dad's working on him right now."

She turned, and saw that Clementine had finally woken up. Luke and Mike returned from speaking with Bonnie, they had been discussing their plan of escape. Mike sat down, and Rebecca began talking.

"What'd she say?" she wanted to know.

"She said she can get us out of the pen if she can get the PA system going," Mike explained. "Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us."

"That's great!"

"It's not great," Luke almost spat.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, I know part of this is my fault, I-I know," Luke stuttered, "I was hungry, I got reckless tryin' to steal some food, and I got caught..."

"We can't stay here!" Clementine argued.

"Exactly!" Rebecca agreed. "We have no idea how long Alvin's got before Bill just kills him. We have to leave now!"

"Look, I hear what you're saying, but it's risky!" Luke replied.

"It is pretty damn risky, guys," Nick agreed.

"Risky? Did you see what that sonuvabitch just did?" Mike asked. "Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to change, it's all set up. The hard part is done. This guy's fucking crazy. Who knows what he'll do next?"

"Yeah, but we're dealin' with a guy beat to shit, Sarita in no shape to do anything, and I'm a goddamn mess!" Luke cried. "Look, we should rest up, okay? We should bide our time, and we should wait for an opening!"

"Bonnie's agreeing to help us tonight-"

"And that doesn't mean she can't do it some _other_ night!"

"I don't know, guys. Luke's making sense," Nick spoke up. "Maybe we should wait."

"We're not waiting!" Rebecca disagreed.

"Ain't nothin' out there, guys! Trust me, I looked!" said Luke. "There's no food, no supplies. They picked everything clean."

"Where's Kenny?" Clementine asked.

"Doc's over there working on him, it don't look good."

As if on cue, Carlos walked over, looking downcast. Sarita looked up at him.

"You better fix him...you better!" Clementine told him nervously.

"I'm doing my best," said Carlos, before he turned his attention back to the group. "His orbital is crushed. I don't think there's much hope for the eye. I got him as stable as I could, cleaned it, got some of the swelling down, bandaged it as best I could. But until he wakes up, we won't know if there's any damage to his brain."

At that news, Sarita looked down and began to cry again.

"Okay, look, maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but if...damn it, if y'all are serious about goin' tonight," Luke announced, "then we're gonna have to start talkin' about...leaving some folks behind."

"No!" Sarita cried.

"There's No. Other. Way."

"This is bullshit," Rebecca argued.

"Well, I don't like it either, but guess what? It's where we're at."

"Kenny and I are only here because of you people, and now you intend to leave us behind," Sarita pointed out.

"So we should risk all of our lives?" Carlos asked.

"No! We're not leaving Kenny!" Clementine cried. "That's not fair. We stay together!"

"Life ain't fair, Clem," said Luke. "We're just trying to make the best of a bad situation here. No one wants to leave Kenny."

"Good, 'cause...you won't have to," a weak voice chimed in. Kenny had woken up from unconsciousness.

Everyone in the group was relieved. Sarita walked over and hugged her boyfriend, who assured her that he was alright.

"We leave tonight. Plan don't change," the Floridian man announced.

"Not bad, old man," Nick praised.

"Thanks, asshole."

_Why does he always swear at people?_ Sarah thought. _That's bad._

"You are one tough bastard," Mike complimented.

"Do tough bastards get their ass kicked in front of everybody?" Kenny joked.

_He's still swearing. He needs a bar of soap in his mouth._

Clementine walked over, and Kenny talked to her.

"You all right? That wasn't your fault, okay? So don't go blamin' yourself."

The little girl replied by hugging him.

"It's all right."

"So, like, what now?" Luke asked.

"We get out of here."

"Like, now-now?"

"Yes!" Rebecca spoke up.

"Where are we going?" Kenny inquired. "Like in case things get squirrely and we gotta make a break for it, we need a place to meet up."

"We could meet up at Parker's Run," Mike suggested.

"What the hell's that?"

"It's a civil war sight a few miles north. Tourist trap. Got signs all over. Just follow the road."

"We stopped there when we escaped the first time," Rebecca pointed out. "Luke and Carlos know where it is, it's not that far."

"Well, at least if a few folks know where it's at, it'll be easier to find if we split up," said Kenny. "Alright, that works."

"Then we just need someone to go set off that PA, right?" Luke asked. "I mean, you never bothered to explain who's supposed to do that."

Everyone looked at...that's right, Clementine.

She sighed. "Why's it always me?"

It was back to where the group started. Mike boosted Clementine up, and she pulled the rope. Sarah felt more confident this time. If Clem could sneak in somewhere once, then she could do it again.

"Be sure to remember to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers," Rebecca instructed the little girl. "Just the indoor speakers might not draw the herd. It's on the right in the microphone box."

"Right," Clem noted.

"By default it's set to play music, so you should just have to turn it on, right? Then climb back up and drop into the stockroom. We'll meet you there."

"Down into the office, outdoor speaker switch, turn on PA, up to the roof, into the stockroom to meet you guys. That right?"

"Perfect," Rebecca praised.

Mike began pulling the rope until Clementine could get to the roof. All was quiet for the next two or so minutes, but Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the announcement. It was quite loud.

_"This Fourth of July, make sure your backyard barbecue is complete with Howe's coal-liner products-"_

At that very moment, Bonnie opened the door to the pen. "Come on! I know where the exit is!"

The group ran out as fast as they could. They were almost there when they heard a voice.

"And just where do you all think you're going?"

Carver.

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**The next chapter will be the final one of Episode 3. It may be a little shorter for obvious reasons, so be prepared. And please review! :D**


	12. Parentless: End Of Episode 3

**Well, here's the final chapter of In Harm's Way. Enjoy!**

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Carver had a rifle pointed towards the group in fury. Luke, Kenny, and Carlos held up their hands as if to surrender. Sarah stood behind her father in fear that Carver was going to try something. He turned his attention to Rebecca.

"You wanna disrespect me, fine. You wanna throw away the life...I'm tryin' to build us, then fuckin' fine!" Carver snarled. "You wanna run off with dogshit group of crippled fucks, fine! Be my guest."

Sarah and Luke looked up, and saw Clementine scooting across a shelf.

_Be careful, Clem,_ Sarah thought.

"I'll put a bullet in you and that baby before you-"

Clementine jumped from the shelf, landing on Carver and catching him off guard. While he was distracted, Kenny immediately punched him, and Luke took his gun, pointing it at him.

"Get back!" Luke ordered.

"Come on, Luke. This ain't none of your business," Carver told him.

"Clem, where...why isn't Alvin with you?" Rebecca asked. "Where is he?"

The sorrowful look on Clementine's face said it all.

Rebecca looks shocked, and then saddened about the loss of her husband. "Alvin..."

"Rebecca...oh God, I am so sorry," said Luke.

"Kill him," Rebecca demanded dangerously.

"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie, my God," Carver sounded almost sad. Almost, but not quite. "How did we get here, you and me? This is just a bit of a custody battle we got on our hands here..."

"Shoot him," Rebecca snapped.

"We should tie him up," Clementine told Luke.

"Yeah...yeah, okay...okay, we got any rope-"

Luke was cut off with the sound of a gunshot, and a grunt of pain from Carver. Kenny had shot the man in the knee. He paused, and then shot Carver in the other knee, sending him down.

Kenny walked over slowly, and grabbed a bloody crowbar. He closed his eyes (well, his eye). "Go on and wait outside," he asked of the group darkly.

Jane and Mike dispersed, and opened up the garage-like door to the exit.

"We have to go," said Carlos.

"Kenny, please!" Sarita begged.

"I only need a minute," Kenny replied. "Go on. You don't need to see this."

"That girl's already seen more than you can imagine," Bill taunted.

"Shut your mouth, Bill!" Luke snapped. "You're all just gonna let him do this?"

_"Yes,"_ Rebecca responded.

"There ain't one part of that son of a bitch I don't hate, but that does not make this right!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Clementine spoke up.

"Look at you, you fuckin' ingrates," Carver ridiculed. "You don't even know how good you got it."

Carlos, Nick, and Sarah turned around and began to walk off, but stopped at the end. Even Sarah seemed to have a vague idea of what was going to happen. And it involved Kenny hurting - maybe even killing - Carver somehow.

"That's all right, you'll learn," Carver continued. "Lambs to the slaughter. No shepherd to guide you. Clementine knows exactly what I'm talking about."

"Come on," Sarita placed her hands on Clementine's shoulders.

"Come on, Clem," Luke added.

"Fuckin' big man now, huh?" Carver asked.

"Come on. I'm not letting you see this," Sarita ignored him, her attention still focused on Clementine.

"It's not your decision," Clementine backed away.

"Atta girl, she ain't afraid to look it in the eye," Carver praised. "You go with that feelin' you got right now, Clementine. It's what makes you stronger than the rest of them."

Carlos approached Sarita. "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah, go on. Let the sheep outta the pen. Let's see how long that lasts."

_I just want to go,_ Sarah thought.

"I'll be right there," Rebecca informed Carlos. She was going to watch Kenny kill the man who killed Alvin.

Carlos placed his hands over Sarah's ears, not allowing her to hear anymore, and guided her outside. What Sarah saw next terrified her. Hundreds of those things -_ walkers_ - were just roaming all around. How were they going to get out?

"Dad, I'm scared," Sarah squeaked, clutching Carlos's arm.

"It's gonna be okay, Sarah," Carlos told her softly.

"Man, we're never gonna make it through this," Sarah heard Nick moan.

"You kidding me? If Clem can make it through, you can," Luke chided him.

"Fuck, I thought they were coming from the south," said Kenny.

"They did," Rebecca pointed out. "Looks like we're in the eye of it now."

"Fuck...this is fucked..." Mike whispered.

"Here, you're gonna need something," Luke handed Clementine a hammer.

Sarah watched as Jane killed a walker, and gutted it open. She couldn't help but cringe, disgusted at how..._bloody_ it was. And it smelled bad. Not to mention that Jane began to rub the walker's guts all over herself.

"You guys better hurry up and get to smearing if you want to live," Jane warned. "Or you can die here. Doesn't matter to me."

Much to Sarah's surprise, Clementine had also cut open a walker that she'd killed, and began smearing its guts all over herself.

"Ugh," Sarah moaned. The smell made her physically sick.

"I'll go first," Clementine whispered.

"You're just gonna put that on yourself?" Sarah questioned.

"We have to, Sarah."

Clementine finished smearing herself, and then got up. "Okay, now you. Turn around."

"Smells gross," Sarah announced as she turned around.

"No shit," Mike agreed.

Sarah could feel the cold and slimy walker guts being rubbed all over her back.

"It'll be okay, honey, just stay still," Carlos warned.

"Are-Are you sure?" Sarah asked her father.

"I'm sure," Carlos assured her, rubbing her front with more walker guts as Clementine got her back. "There's nothing to fear if you remain calm. I'll keep you safe."

Nobody noticed the shocked, saddened look from Clementine behind Sarah.

"Hurry the fuck up," Jane prodded.

"Turn around, I'll get your back," Carlos instructed Clementine. She did so, and Sarah watched as her father smeared Clem's back, her expression still disgusted. Everyone smelled horrible now.

"We ain't got all day here, everybody ready?" Kenny announced. "They're almost on us."

"What in the actual fuck is going on here?" Troy demanded as he walked out, holding his rifle. "What is this sick shit? Somebody say something before I-" He turned to Luke. "HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! Don't you even fucking think about it, motherfucker. I will end you! You hear me?"

"Troy..." Jane stared off calmly, getting up. "Troy...we talked about this..."

"What? The fuck you talkin' about?" Troy wanted to know.

_Talked about what?_ Sarah thought as she watched the scene.

"I told you I wanted to get out," Jane explained. "You said you'd help, then I'd help."

"I thought you meant gettin' out of the pen! Not whatever the fuck this shit is!"

"I did, but now we can leave. Troy...you can come with us."

"What? Well, where would we go?"

"Away from here...together," Jane's tone was almost seductive.

"Man, you smell really bad. You gotta get a bath before we-"

What Jane did next shocked Sarah, her mouth opening slightly. Jane aimed her gun and shot Troy's penis right off, causing the latter to scream loudly and collapse in shear agony.

"AHH! YOU SHOT MY DICK OFF!" Troy hollered as Jane walked away.

"Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they done like," Jane warned. "And for fuck's sake, _walk._ Act like you belong, and you will belong."

Sarah's anxiety began to pick up, and began to form panicking breaths as she followed her father. Clementine was right behind them. Sarah's whimpers were audible enough for Carlos to hear them.

_These things are even scarier up close..._ Sarah though fearfully.

"Watch Sarah," Nick was heard whispering.

Sarah looked around. By now, she was almost in complete panic mode.

"Shhhh, quiet, honey," Carlos turned around to face his daughter, and then spoke to Clementine. "Clementine, come help me. Calm her down. Please. Just say something. You're her friend."

Just then, the worst possible thing that could happen to Sarah, well, happened.

Carlos grabbed the back of his neck, as he had been shot.

"DAD!" Sarah yelled.

She couldn't control herself anymore. A couple of walkers grabbed Carlos and pushed him down, eating him alive as he screamed in agonizing pain. And poor Sarah was there to witness it all.

"DAD! DAAAAAAAD!" Sarah bellowed, placing her hands to her head. She began to sob loudly. "DAAAAAD!"

Her stability was crashing down in mere moments. She had just lost her father, her everything. And now she had no one.

"Sarah!" Bonnie called as she shot some walkers.

"Please Daddy...no..." Sarah sobbed softly.

She thought she heard Clementine say something to her, but whatever it was was now irrelevant. Sarah began bolting away from the herd, tripping as she did so. Walkers barely missed her, but she got up and kept running, making it out.

Sarah didn't have the slightest clue as to where she was running to. Her vision was blurry with tears as she ran and ran.

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**Well, that wraps up Episode 3, In Harm's Way. I actually teared up when I was writing Carlos's death, it was pretty sad to see him go. He didn't deserve that. And poor, poor Sarah. :/ Well, anyways, please leave a review. **

**My Episode Choices: **

**I helped Sarah with her chores**

**I hid Luke's presence**

**I stayed quiet about the radio**

**I watched Kenny kill Carver**

**I chopped off Sarita's arm**


	13. Broken

**Episode 4 begins around this chapter, but Clementine will not be seen until likely the next one. Thanks for the reviews, and also a big thank you to Assassin's Creed Master for the help with this chapter!**

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Sarah slammed full-blast into a tree, but even that was less painful than what had happened mere moments ago. She ran and ran, and stopped at an opening. Her legs shook, and she collapsed to her knees.

She could hear walker moans coming closer to her, and one was practically breathing down on her. But a machete killed it before it could chomp Sarah's neck.

"Sarah?" a familiar voice asked. The person knelt down in front of her. "Sarah? It's us, it's Luke and Nick. We're right here, okay?"

At that, Sarah slowly lifted her head up, the tears on her cheeks glistening in the moonlight. She looked from both of the two older boys and began breathing heavily, showing that she was currently in a very bad place.

"Wh-What about my dad?" she whispered. If she had talked any louder, her voice would've definitely cracked. "Where's my dad, Luke?"

Nick, who was clutching his left shoulder, gave her a sympathetic look. He looked hesitant, wondering if he should tell her.

"Sarah," he sighed, not really wanting to tell her, but she had to know. "He just died in the herd. Don't you remember?"

"That's not TRUE!" Sarah screamed out. She began to sniffle and sob. "He's coming! He's coming to get me right now, and then we're all gonna go back to the cabin. It's safe at the cabin. It's safe there..."

Luke gave his friend a look that said, _'Way to go,'_ (while receiving a glare from Nick in return) and was about to say something to Sarah when something else happened.

"Shit! Walkers!" Nick cried.

Sarah felt herself be picked up bridal-style, and whoever was carrying her began running, but not very well. It turned out that Luke was the one carrying her, and nearly dropped her.

"Fuck, my ribs," he hissed. He had to put Sarah down, and luckily she didn't drop to the ground. "Sarah, stay behind us, okay?"

Sarah clung to Nick as the two grabbed their weapons, and killed the five walkers that were trying to eat them. The poor girl shivered as the walkers fell down dead, black blood pouring from their brains. These were the things that had killed Carlos.

"I want - I need my dad," Sarah whimpered. "I need him. I-I can't...I-"

"I know, Sarah, I know," Luke replied sadly.

"We...need a place to stop for the night," Nick told Luke.

Sarah turned, and saw someone, or something, wearing a plaid shirt, just like Carlos. Her eyes widened, and for just a very short moment, she felt a very small glimmer of hope.

"D-Dad?" Sarah asked, running towards the plaid-clad thing.

"Sarah, no!" Nick called. He and Luke ran after her.

But Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. It wasn't Carlos, it was just a walker that happened to be wearing a similar shirt. Tears blurred Sarah's vision again, and she began backing away as the walker tried to approach her. A gunshot was heard, and the walker fell dead.

"Sarah, what the hell are you doing?" Luke scolded her. "You could have been killed!"

But poor Sarah looked at him in horror, the tears pouring from her eyes like a faucet, and turned around, bolting in the other direction. Thin, leafy tree branches hit her in the face, but she either didn't notice or care.

Her heart pounded, feeling like it was beating a thousand times a minute, but she didn't care. She just kept running. She would run until she was safe in her father's arms again, even if it took years. She heard Luke and Nick calling her, yelling for her to stop, but she wouldn't listen.

Sarah's foot temporarily got stuck underneath a log, causing her to trip and land flat on her stomach. She scrambled up and continued running again, not even noticing that her red glasses had fallen off, nor that she'd stepped on one of the lenses, cracking it.

There was a trailer park coming right up. Some more walkers tried to grab Sarah, but she screamed loudly and continued running, opening and closing the door as she got inside.

Luckily for her, the place was clear, so she went to one of the back rooms and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest as she cried.

_I want my dad. I want my dad. I want my dad. I-_

The trailer door opened and closed again, and Sarah heard her name being called. But she didn't say anything, just stared at the blurry, fuzzy wall across from her. Footsteps came closer and closer, until a voice was heard.

"Luke, I found her, she's in here."

The person stood on his knees in front of her, and Sarah was met by the concerned blue eyes of Nick. He sighed, by no means was he any good at comforting anybody, let alone Sarah (although he had been able to calm an anxiety attack or two).

"Sarah? Can you listen to me?" Nick asked. "Look, I know exactly what you're going through. I felt the exact same way when when I lost my mom and Uncle Pete-"

He tried to touch her shoulder, but Sarah wiggled around and pushed his hand off, letting out a small scream. She pulled on her filthy hair and squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face.

"Shit," Luke swore from the doorway. "Want me to try?"

"No, I've got this-"

Nick was interrupted by the sounds of moaning coming from outside, and he punched the floor in frustration. "Goddamn it! Can't we _ever_ get a break?" He sighed and turned to Luke. "I change my mind. You take care of Sarah, I'll go and get help. I'll come right back."

Luke nodded, and slowly started to approach the broken Sarah. Nick took one final, remorseful look at his friends, and then started out.

"Sarah, why don't you lie down and try to sleep a little bit?" Luke suggested gently. "It'll help you forget for a while."

But Sarah didn't say anything. She couldn't sleep, she _couldn't._ She was too wide awake, and afraid. She shook her head fiercely. Luke only sighed and sat down a little ways from her. He decided to leave her alone for the next little while, but would attempt again if Sarah tried something, or began freaking out again.

Night turned to early morning, and both Luke and Sarah were still wide awake. For different reasons, of course. Sarah was obviously so shaken up after the loss of Carlos that she could barely think straight, and Luke, well, he was worried.

_Nick should have been back by now._

"Fuck!" Luke whispered, getting up slowly. He turned to Sarah, who was still hugging her knees to her chest, her dark eyes still wide and bloodshot from the nonstop flowing of tears and lack of sleep.

Despite the pain in his ribs, the nearly twenty-seven-year-old man crouched down in front of Sarah again, trying his best to sound gentle.

"Sarah? You have to listen to me, hon, okay?" Luke held his hands out. "We have to go now. We have to find Nick, and the others. Do you understand?"

There was no response.

Luke placed his hand on her back and behind her legs, and picked her up again. He let out a cry of pain, but was determined to get Sarah back to safety even if it meant having to carry her.

A banging sound on the door made Luke stop dead in his tracks, and a moaning noise made him realize who - what - was on the other side.

"NO!" Sarah screeched, thrashing around in Luke's arms. This only made the moans of the walkers louder. Luke let out another pained hiss, as the fifteen-year-old had accidentally hit him in the ribs.

Sarah fell onto the ground face-first, before scrambling to her feet and running back to the room, returning to her position on the floor, with her hugging her knees to her chest. Luke ran after her, and stood in front of her.

"Sarah, you need to calm down," he tried to reason. "What's the problem?"

"W-W-Walkers!" Sarah whimpered, just barely above a whisper. She hadn't cried in the last few hours, but now her new fear had turned the waterworks right back on. The poor, broken girl placed her hands to her head, beginning to panic. "I can't - I can't turn into a - I can't become a..."

"Listen, just get a hold of yourself and-" Luke repeated. He tried to grab her shoulders to shake them, but Sarah began flailing her arms wildly, pushing him.

"GET OFF!" she yelled.

"Sarah, goddamn it!" Luke cried.

Sarah buried her head in her knees and sobbed loudly. All she wanted was for Carlos to come and hold her and take the pain away, for these monsters to go away. She was actually facing her worst nightmare come alive.

"They're going to eat us! They're going to eat us!" Sarah wept bitterly. Her breaths came out in short gasps, and she sat up, holding her ears.

"Just...calm down!" Luke wasn't sure what to do at this point. The only people that Carlos had been able to teach his techniques for calming Sarah down to were Nick, Rebecca, and Pete. No doubt he was wishing to have learned now.

"GET AWAY!" Sarah hollered, referring to both Luke and the walkers outside. "Daddy, where are you? WHY?!"

"Just get it together!" Luke shouted at her. "You _need_ to listen to me! It will be_ fine! _Just listen!"

Too bad yelling in Sarah's face only made her cry harder, and scream louder. Luke tried to grab her shoulder again, but she bit him hard, just enough to draw blood.

"OW! Fuck!" Luke swore, clutching his hand.

The sounds of growling and moaning increased from outside. Luke frantically turned to the exit, realizing the situation at hand. He hated to do it, but he turned and yelled at Sarah. "Carlos is fucking dead, alright? We need to get the hell out of here!"

Sarah rapidly shook her head, and continued to scream. Luke was only making it worse for her. "No, no, NO!"

_Carlos is fucking dead,_ he had told her.

_"PLEASE!"_ Sarah bellowed, begging for this dire piece of information to not be true. Her vision was so blurred with tears by now that she didn't even know where she was, if she even knew that in the first place. She let out some more sobs.

"We are gonna _die_ in here!" Luke continued to yell. He was done being nice. "You need to _shut up!_ What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"

Sarah held her hands to her ears, she couldn't stop crying. It didn't help that Luke was screaming in her face.

"I can't help you if you don't-" Luke was interrupted by more of Sarah's yelling.

"GET BACK! LEAVE ME ALONE! JUST GO AWAY!"

"You can't do this!" Luke was almost pleaded. By now he was kneeling down in front of her again. "What do I have to do to get you to move?"

"Just go away! *Sniff* Please!" Sarah bawled.

"Just listen to me!" Luke argued. "Calm down!"

Sarah's only response was the continuation of bitter crying, causing Luke to groan and facepalm in annoyance.

"Come on! Why are you being like this?"

"Just go away and leave me alone!"

"No, no, no, no, come on!" Luke demanded. "We're getting up and getting out of here!"

Sarah was sobbing too bitterly and hysterically to even notice the honking of a car horn, or the diminishing sounds of the walkers' moans.

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**So that was my take on what could have happened while Sarah was with Luke (and indeterminably Nick), before and in the trailer park. I hated having to write more cruel treatment of poor Sarah, but still. :/ A lot of her screaming actually did come from the game, but some quotes were obviously added. Oh well, tune in next time, and please review! :D **


	14. Tainted Innocence

**I appreciate the feedback as always. :) Keep it coming!**

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Sarah was still sobbing quite loudly and hyperventilating. "I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't!"

The sound of a hard thud coming from the front caused Sarah to scream and shake.

"Sarah, please!" Luke almost begged, pacing around the room. He turned to the door. "Who's out there?"

Somehow, the voices out in the hall seemed vaguely familiar, but the poor fifteen-year-old was too caught up in her tangled mess of thoughts and fears. Her dad was dead, and there were those dead things wanting to make a meal out of them.

Luke's voice was heard again, but now it was back to being gentle like usual. "Sarah, look. Look, it's Clem. See? It's just like I told you. They're okay."

Either he hadn't really told her anything about Clementine, or she wasn't listening. It was most very likely to be the latter.

Sarah looked up and saw Clementine and Jane looking down at her.

"Sarah, come on, we...we have to go now," said Luke. He looked up. "I don't know what to do. I can't snap her out of it, okay? I tried to carry her, but...I guess Carver messed me up pretty good back there. I dunno, it's just, after Carlos, she just lost it. Started running through the woods like a maniac. I chased her for I don't know how long, and...well, she saw this mobile home, made a beeline right for it. I'm just glad y'all are here."

The sounds of banging on the door made Sarah's breathing an even greater struggle.

"Well, we're not out of the woods yet," Jane pointed out.

"What are we gonna do about her?" Luke asked, referring to Sarah as if she weren't even there. "We gotta do something."

"Maybe she'll listen to me," Clementine suggested.

"Maybe."

"Listen, I, uhh..." Jane trailed off, as the door banged again. "They're gonna tear this place open pretty soon. We can't stay. So we gotta get her up, or we gotta..."

_She wants to leave me here,_ Sarah thought. _She doesn't care about me. Nobody cares about me. Only my dad cares about me._

"Well, I've been trying...I've been trying for hours," Luke told Jane. "I can barely get her to look at me. Clem?"

"Sarah, it's me."

Sarah looked up at Clementine briefly, and then looked back down. "Hi."

Clementine leaned forward, as if wanting to give her a hug, but the older girl flinched away and made a noise.

"Shit," Jane muttered.

"Maybe it seems like you're all alone right now, but you're not," Clem tried to assure Sarah.

"Yes I am," Sarah replied quietly.

"What about Luke? And Jane, and me. We came here because of you," Clementine pointed out as Sarah burst into fresh tears. "All of us in the group, we're your family now."

There was a banging sound from the window, and Jane walked over. "Crap, we're surrounded. What about the skylight?"

"All we got," Luke responded.

"Clem!" Jane cried, approaching the younger girl. "Clem, there's no time!"

"When everything started, I met my friend Lee," Clementine continued, ignoring her. "He tried to help me find my parents. He protected me more than anyone else in my whole life. He died to keep me safe. I was so scared."

By now, Sarah was looking at her younger friend again, a little surprised. "But you're still here."

"Because he taught me to be strong. Even when I'm scared. Because he wanted me to live," Clementine reasoned. "And your dad protected you because he wanted _you_ to live! He would still want that."

From the front, it sounded like the walkers were almost in. Jane ran out.

"Get to the skylight! Now!" she called.

"C'mon, I'll boost you!"

Clementine ran to Luke and stood on his hand, but the man's ribs got the better of him, because he gripped them in pain, causing Clem to fall.

"What's going on back there?" Jane demanded.

"My ribs!" Luke replied. "We're gonna need something to stand on!"

Next thing Sarah knew, she was all alone in the small room again, as Luke and Clementine went out to help Jane fend off the walkers. Sarah was now thinking about Clem's words. She was also thinking about Lee (although she never knew him), and her father.

Clem and Luke reentered the room, pushing in a dresser and placing it in the middle of the room. Sarah, a bit less in a daze now, was confused.

"Luke, you first, we need you up top," Jane instructed.

"Sarah! We have to go, are you listening?" Clementine called to her older friend.

But Sarah couldn't move. Too much was on her mind. "I can't...do it," she said in a teary voice.

"NOW, CLEMENTINE!" Jane yelled. "If she doesn't want to go, you can't make her! Don't let her take you down, too! Not again!"

But Clementine ignored Jane, and knelt down next to Sarah.

"I can't, I can't!" Sarah cried, looking away in shame. "Daddy, I'm-"

"Don't die like this!" Clem pleaded. "Please!"

"You can't save her, Clem! We have to go!" Jane reprimanded. "Believe me, I know about this."

"Hurry up!" Luke ordered.

_I can't do it, I can't do it, I-_

SLAP!

Sarah felt a stinging pain on her left cheek as her thoughts were interrupted, and looked up in shock as she touched her cheek. Clementine had _slapped_ her.

"MOVE!" Clementine yelled.

Sarah barely had time to acknowledge being slapped as Clementine hauled her to her feet and got her to climb the dresser, right as walkers began pouring into the room. Luke lifted her up to the roof, followed by Clementine, and then Jane.

"Sarah..." Luke trailed off.

Clementine approached Sarah then, and handed her her red glasses. Sarah put them on and managed a very small smile in a silent thanks for saving her.

"We have to go!" Jane called.

The four of them jumped down from the roof and began walking into the forest. As Sarah walked in back, she began to process her thoughts again, except this time she was a bit more aware of her surroundings.

"Look, Sarah. You can get through this," Clementine reassured her. "We both will. I promise."

"But...I'm not okay," Sarah didn't sound convinced. Would she ever be okay again?

"Just try. Can you do that?"

"She just needs a little time, Clem," said Jane. "Leave her be for a bit."

Clementine walked a little forwards, leaving Sarah to trudge along behind the rest.

Jane was rambling something fierce about her sister, and some similar situation. Was that all Jane saw her as? What she saw Clementine as, if it ever had to come to that with her?

This was confirmed when Jane began comparing Sarah to her sister, Jaime. For a moment, Sarah had to think of the exact word, but soon she realized it.

_Liability. _

_I didn't mean to make you hate me, Jane,_ Sarah thought sadly. _Whatever I did, I'm sorry._

Sarah, Clementine, Luke, and Jane arrived at Parker's Run within the next few minutes. Bonnie was walking with Rebecca, an arm around her shoulder, and Sarita and Kenny were nowhere to be found. Mike walked over to greet them.

"Son of a bitch, you found them!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm a little amazed myself, to tell you the truth," Luke replied. "If it weren't for Clem and Jane, well, I don't know what would've happened."

Bonnie and Rebecca then approached Sarah, and the latter began talking. "Hey, Sarah. How you doing, hon?"

Rebecca tried to touch Sarah, but the fifteen-year-old flinched away. _Please don't touch me. I'm sorry._

But Rebecca seemed to understand. "That's okay, sweetie. Whenever you're ready. I'm just glad you're here. Wait, wait, where's Nick?"

Sarah walked off without saying anything, but stood close.

"Uh, Rebecca, how about we go for a walk for a minute?" Luke suggested, a sad tone in his voice. Sarah watched as he pulled her to the side and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Bec...Nick...he's dead. He...Clem told us he was outside, and..."

Sarah's eyes widened slightly, and watched helplessly as Rebecca began to cry, sobbing into her hands.

"No...no..."

_No, please...not Nick too,_ Sarah thought, her thin shoulders heaving up and down slightly as her breaths became shaky. Her lip quivered. She had lost both her father and someone she had looked up to like a big brother all in a day.

She had to go sit down, wanting to process and gather her thoughts.

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**Watching that trailer scene again almost killed me, it was painful to watch. :/ So I may have a little trouble with the next chapter. Should I write out an extra scene or skip ahead to later on? If I should write the scene, what do you want to happen (either way, Clementine will still go up and talk to her)? Please leave your thoughts and ideas in the reviews. :)**


	15. Denial

**Thank you all for letting me know what to do. This will be a chapter that basically runs through Sarah's mind while Clementine is with Jane, Mike, and Bonnie. The observation deck chapter will be the next one. Sorry if this one is a little short.**

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"Oh, shit. Does that mean what I think it does? What are we supposed to do?"

Sarah had been sitting against a small stone wall for no longer than a few minutes when her thoughts were cut off by Luke's worried voice. She looked over to see Rebecca clutching her stomach with one hand, and holding Bonnie's hand with the other. This had coaxed Kenny out of the nearby tent, and now he, Luke, Clementine, Mike, Bonnie, and Jane were swarmed over Rebecca.

_She must be having the baby,_ Sarah thought. She knew enough about babies to know how they were born, but that was about it.

She began to wonder where Carlos was, and when he was coming. He was a doctor, so surely he must've known about childbirth. But why was everyone asking Kenny? Luke's words began replaying in the young girl's mind, but she tried to block them away.

_Carlos is fucking dead._

_No, he ISN'T!_ Sarah's thoughts yelled at her. She was clearly going through the first of the five stages of grief: Denial.

"Sarah? Sarah," Luke tried to get her attention.

_Just leave me alone, Luke. Please? I didn't mean to hurt you._

"You just stay here with Rebecca and Kenny, okay?" Luke asked.

Sarah didn't answer.

For a long while, she only sat there and began to think about a lot of things. She now understood what it was like to _hate_ someone, and she didn't like it. Sure, there were people out there that she didn't like very much, but never had she hated anybody in her whole life.

She hated Carver.

Sarah blamed him for everything that had happened. She blamed him for the deaths of her father, Nick, and Alvin, and maybe even Pete. If only Carver hadn't shown up, their group would all be safe at the cabin. A tear fell from both eyes when she thought about this, how quickly the lives of the group seemed to be slipping away. It wasn't fair.

But nonetheless, she wasn't glad that Kenny had so brutally murdered Carver. Nobody should have to die like that.

_Why did Clementine save me?_ Sarah thought. _I don't deserve a friend like her..._

As if her thoughts had been heard, footsteps approached her, and the slightly saddened face of Clementine could soon be seen.

"Hey, Sarah, you know, Rebecca's starting to-" Clem began.

"They were going to leave me, weren't they?" Sarah murmured, not even bothering to look up.

"Of course not!" Clementine replied. "Luke tried really hard to get you to come with him."

"How come...you didn't leave me?" Sarah looked up.

"Because we're friends."

"I could never be that good of a friend," said Sarah. She wiped a tear from her eye. "I just want my dad."

"I know," Clementine replied sadly.

"When he...when he gets here, we should all go back to the cabin. We're safe there."

_My dad isn't dead. He's going to come find us._

"Sarah...your dad..." Clementine informed her, slowly but cautiously. "...You know he isn't coming, right?"

_That's not true! He's on his way here now. He'll come, and deliver Rebecca's baby, and-_

"Sarah?"

"Hey, I think that's all she can take for now," Rebecca approached them. "She'll be all right."

Sarah found herself alone again, not knowing what amount of time had passed. But what Clementine had told her had triggered her anxiety, and she began to struggle to breathe, and rocked back and forth slightly.

A real friend wouldn't lie. But Carlos was alive.

Wasn't he?

_You know he isn't coming, right?_ Clementine had told her.

Sarah looked up and was momentarily pulled out of her thoughts when she saw Luke and Jane chattering away and smiling. She got a little confused when she saw Jane smirk and place a hand between Luke's legs.

_You're not supposed to touch there,_ Sarah thought. _My dad says..._

Those final three words alone made her shrink back into herself, and Sarah squeezed her eyes shut. She pulled at her black hair, and was struggling not to scream out. She didn't want to attract anymore attention than necessary.

But she wasn't the one who screamed. After a moment, she realized that the scream had come from Rebecca.

Sarah jumped up and ran to where Rebecca was sitting at the edge of the fountain. Kenny was standing over her, instructing her to keep breathing.

"Are-Are you okay, Rebecca?" Sarah asked timidly.

"She's fine," Kenny threw over his shoulder, not paying full attention. This caused Sarah to back up.

As if to answer, Rebecca let out another pained scream. "Shit. Shit. Oh God!"

"Breathe like I told you," Kenny instructed.

A low groaning noise was heard, and Sarah turned around in fear. An unknown number of walkers were wandering towards the unaware group. Her breaths became shaky as she was currently unsure what to do.

"Oh no..." Sarah tried to gasp out. "Clem...Clem...Clementine!"

"Shit! Walkers!" Bonnie pointed out, like it was obvious.

"How'd they get that close without anyone seein' 'em?" Mike wondered. "Where the hell's Luke?"

_Or Jane?_ Sarah thought.

"Kenny, we've gotta do something!" Clementine cried.

Kenny paused, and got up. "You just keep that baby safe."

"Kenny?" Clem called.

"We can't stay here!" Bonnie argued.

"Mike, the water!"

"On it!" Mike shouted.

Sarah was frozen in stunned fear as she watched Kenny kill some of the walkers. She was hoping that he wouldn't get bit, or worse.

"Sarah, let's go!" Bonnie called as she escorted Rebecca away.

Luckily, this got Sarah to listen, as she ran away with the group. They didn't walk far, and approached an observation deck. As broken and traumatized as Sarah was right now, she was hoping for Luke and Kenny to be okay, and for Rebecca to have a safe birth.

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**I'm really sorry this was such a short chapter. But the next one is a pretty big one, but it WON'T be the final chapter. ;) Please review! **


	16. Caught Under Rubble

**I now have over 50 reviews! I appreciate all of you, and I may not say that enough. But I have a feeling that you all will like the outcome of this chapter. ;)**

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Walkers continued to follow the group as they made the short travel to the observation deck. Kenny killed one that almost chomped into Clementine, and then Clem and Sarah ran to the top while Bonnie escorted Rebecca.

"Clementine!" Luke's started voice was heard.

Sarah looked in, and Luke and Jane were sitting close together in a (to put it nicely) romantic type of position. She heard Kenny yelling at Luke for not doing his job as Mike closed the garage-like door to what was probably some type of gift shop.

"What's goin' on?" Luke asked.

"Rebecca's having the baby!" Clementine exclaimed.

Rebecca let out a scream of pain, while Sarah watched in slight fear and worry.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Luke said remorsefully.

Bonnie helped Rebecca lay on the ground gently. It seemed as if the baby was going to pop out at any moment.

"They're comin' up the stairs!" Mike called.

"Uh, we should-" Luke began.

"You wanna help? Get out there and keep the walkers off of us!" Kenny demanded.

"They can't rush us on the stairs!" Mike cried. "Shoot 'em before they get to us!"

Luke, Bonnie, and Mike began to shoot the walkers behind the closed gate, while Sarah stood out by the deck, her position frozen and her face scared. What if they got in, or the group ran out of ammunition, or...

"Keep shooting! They are _not_ getting up here!" Luke ordered as Clementine ran out from trying to calm Rebecca.

"We're gonna run out of ammo! Help us!" Bonnie yelled.

"We can block them with this!" Clementine announced, running over to a display cannon. She positioned it, and Luke ran over to help.

"Together. Ready?" Luke asked.

He and Clem pushed the cannon forward, but the weak deck wood gave out, and fell in. The walkers who were trying to get in fell down as well, but they were far from "dead."

Unfortunately, this caused nearly half of the deck to give out as well, possibly due to how old it seemed. Almost everyone moved out of the way in time, but Sarah wasn't so lucky.

She fell and landed on top of some of the rubble, but she couldn't get up. Jane nearly fell too, but Luke grabbed her hand.

"Sarah, hang on!" Bonnie called.

"AAAHHHH! Help me!" Sarah pleaded.

"Jane, save Sarah!" Clementine demanded.

Sarah began panicking and nearly screaming, and after some persuasion, Jane jumped down and began trying to get the rubble off of her, and Bonnie shot a couple of the walkers ready to lean down.

"Sarah, you have to trust...WATCH OUT!" Clementine yelled as an extra plank fell. Jane jumped out of the way just in time before it could hit her head.

Frantically, Jane pulled on the rubble some more, until finally, it came off. She grabbed a nail file out of her pocket and stabbed the walkers in the head as they were leaning down to feast on Sarah.

Sarah let out a scream, but Jane grabbed her hands and pulled her out. But there was just one thing: Another walker grabbed Sarah's ankle and was prepared to bite it, causing Sarah to scream again. Fortunately, someone shot the walker, causing it to let go. Jane quickly pulled Sarah up and pushed her forward.

"Go! GO!" Jane yelled. "Climb!"

Sarah didn't need to be told twice, and began climbing the deck at a rapid speed. She immediately ran to Bonnie, who began shushing her as she trembled from the traumatizing experience.

"Shh, it's alright, darlin', you're okay now," Bonnie whispered, rubbing circles on the fifteen-year-old's back. Sarah sobbed quietly and buried her face in the woman's chest.

A loud, pain-filled scream echoed from Rebecca, telling everyone that the baby was nearly out.

"Sarah, stay in the gift shop with Kenny and Rebecca," Bonnie instructed.

Sarah wiped her tears and obliged.

"Shit, they're climbing up!" Jane explained.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"They're gonna make it up here!"

"FUCK!" Mike swore.

"Does this shit ever end?" Luke yelled.

Sarah was still trembling as she looked from everyone outside, to Kenny and Rebecca. A crashing noise made her jump and turn around. The whole deck was somehow dropped, but luckily everyone made it out alive.

"Oh God..." Kenny was heard muttering.

Sarah turned around and gasped softly, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Kenny was holding the newly-delivered baby (that still had yet to be cleaned), but there was one problem: Its eyes were closed, not a sign of life in the tiny person. Sarah was currently fearing the worst, and she wasn't the only one.

"Oh, no..." Bonnie whispered, sounding like she was ready to break into tears. She placed one hand on Clementine's back, and the other on Sarah's.

Rebecca's face scrunched up in sadness and horror, and she began to cry softly. Kenny sadly closed his eyes.

"Is...is it...?" Clementine trailed off.

But she was interrupted by the sound of the baby coughing, and it began to cry. Relief washed over every face of the group, and everyone, including Sarah, was smiling widely.

"Is it a boy...or a girl?" Sarah asked.

"It's a little ol' boy," Kenny was grinning now. "I'll clean him up, and then I'll let Mommy hold him. How's that sound?"

"That sounds great," Rebecca replied. She was still crying, but these were tears of happiness. Sarah got to her knees and squeezed Rebecca's hand, offering her a tiny smile, although what had happened to Carlos was still fresh in her mind.

Rebecca squeezed back, and lay down in contentment.

Sarah went to sit in the nearby corner, again with her knees hugged to her chest and her thoughts processing. She still missed her father very much, she was still very much in the grieving process, no doubt. But now she felt a sense of hope.

Whether it be from Rebecca's newborn son, or something else, she didn't know.

The next thing she knew, Clementine had knelt down in front of her. "Sarah, are you okay?"

Sarah paused, and then looked up. "Jane didn't want to save me...did she?"

"Of course she did, I bet-"

"I heard her say...that I wasn't getting out of that deck," Sarah interrupted. "She wanted me to die."

"That's not true," Clementine coaxed.

"Yes it is," Sarah looked at the ground again, and began rocking slightly. "I'm useless. I don't want to be useless anymore, Clementine. I want to be strong...like you." She looked up with misty eyes, and pleaded. "I can be strong...if you teach me how."

Clementine sighed slightly, and looked away as if to process a thought. Then she turned around.

"You're not useless, Sarah. You saved my life in the cabin, and you saved everyone's lives today," Clem reassured her. "And when we find the time, I'm going to teach you how to survive. I'll teach you everything Lee taught me. He's the reason for who I am today. Are you up for it, Sarah?"

Sarah could only nod, and smiled very lightly. "Thanks, Clem."

Clementine was about to get up, but Sarah called her back. "Clementine?"

"Yeah?" the eleven-year-old faced her friend again.

"Do you think..." Sarah swallowed the ever-growing lump in her throat. "Do you think my dad would be proud of me? For still being alive without him? I still miss him."

"Your dad would still want for you to live, like I told you," Clementine smiled lightly. "But I think he's very proud of you. And he would be glad that you're going to learn how to survive. Well...on most aspects."

"Thanks, Clem," Sarah spoke barely above a whisper. "I bet Lee is proud of you, too."

Clementine looked a little surprised, but nodded. "I hope so."

Sarah yawned and curled up into a ball by the corner. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since before Carlos had died. "I think I'll go to sleep now, I'm tired. Goodnight, Clementine."

"Goodnight, Sarah," Clementine whispered, pulling herself up.

Sarah watched as Mike brought over a green blanket to wrap around the baby, but it was only a few minutes or less before exhaustion overtook her body. She placed her head on her arms and fell asleep, wondering what the coming days would bring.

**\\\\**

**SARAH LIVES! XD So I know a lot of you were expecting this, and I can't stand the cheap way(s) that Telltale killed her off (nor can I stand the fact that she even died, though it was bound to happen sometime). And okay, I cried a little while writing this as I had to witness her death again. But I have some special plans for her as I write out No Going Back. ;) I want to thanks all of you lovely readers out there, and I should have the next chapter up by tomorrow!**


	17. Time To Practice

**Thank you for all the feedback, reviews or other. I knew you guys would be pleased at the results. XD **

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Sarah jolted awake, looking around. She'd had a bad dream about Carlos, and walkers. The image of her father being eaten right in front of her had barely left her head, and it made her shake. But she wouldn't allow herself to cry. She would save that for a later time.

She looked around. Mike, Bonnie, and Clementine were all asleep, Luke was on watch outside, and Kenny and Jane were nowhere in sight. Rebecca was sitting up, cradling the baby. She didn't look too good.

It was probably very early in the morning now, so Sarah got up and decided to go see Rebecca.

Rebecca noticed her and gave her a weak smile. "Hey, Sarah. Are you okay?"

Sarah dropped to her knees and looked at the ground. "I..." She debated on whether she should tell Rebecca about her nightmare, as she always trusted her. But she decided against it. "I guess so. I just wish my dad was here."

Rebecca gave her a sympathetic look. "I know, I do too. I'm so sorry, sweetie. But I'm glad to still have you."

"Thanks," Sarah replied softly. She turned her attention to the sleeping green bundle in Rebecca's arms. It had been so long since she had seen a baby, something so small, so innocent.

"Would you like to hold him?" Rebecca offered, noticing her gaze.

"Um..." Sarah trailed off. She was nervous, probably afraid that she would drop the baby or something. But she would be careful. "Okay."

Rebecca slowly handed Sarah the baby. Sarah looked at the baby's face, and felt that pang of hope again. He was fast asleep, and Sarah hoped that he wouldn't wake up and cry. She wouldn't have known what to do.

"Wow..." Sarah breathed. "He's so little. I haven't seen a baby in forever."

The baby's face scrunched up, and he began to cry quietly, causing Sarah to get nervous again. She handed him back to Rebecca sheepishly.

At that moment, Clementine began moving around, and she sat up. Rebecca and Sarah both turned to her, and she smiled lightly.

"Hey, Clementine," Rebecca greeted.

"Hey. How's he doing?" Clem replied.

"He's perfect," said Rebecca. She turned down to her son. "Who's a perfect little man? Who's the most perfect little man in the whole world? You are. That's right, you are."

"He looks like Alvin," Clementine commented.

"Yeah," Sarah added.

"You girls think so?"

"Definitely," Clem responded.

"Thank you."

Rebecca coughed quietly, which caused a look of worry between Sarah and Clementine.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she assured them. "I just wish I could get warm."

"Clem," Mike spoke up then, having just woken up. "Why don't you give her that coat we found?" As Clementine pulled the gray coat out, Mike continued. "Sorry, y'know...about the color." He turned back around.

_What's wrong with the color?_ Sarah thought.

"You really think I care about that?" Rebecca scoffed. She turned to Clem. "Do you...wanna hold him?"

"Could I?" Clementine asked, a small smile on her face.

"Of course. You're family. Here."

"I already held him," Sarah whispered. "He's real little. And soft."

Clementine took the baby and smiled down at him. When he began to cry loudly, Sarah jumped and was glad that that didn't (really) happen when she held him. Luckily, Clem seemed to know how to handle it.

"Shh, shhhh, there you go," she comforted, rocking the baby gently.

"You're a natural," Rebecca complimented.

"Look at you," Kenny spoke up as he approached. "Like a big sister. Here, let me take him. You all should rest, especially you." He nodded towards Rebecca at the last part.

"When's the last time you slept, Kenny?" Rebecca inquired.

"About two years ago, I'm fine," Kenny answered. He smiled down at the baby. "Plus, somebody's gotta watch you while Mama gets her beauty sleep."

Much to Sarah's surprise, Kenny leaned in and sniffed the baby. "You never forget that smell."

"Babies have a smell?" Sarah asked, frowning.

"Heh, yeah," said Kenny, walking away with the baby.

Rebecca watched him for a second, and then turned her head, closing her eyes. That was Clementine and Sarah's cue to get up and let her sleep. Clementine disappeared outside, and Sarah went to lay back down to try to sleep some more.

_I miss you, Dad,_ Sarah thought. _I'm going to be strong, though. Clementine will teach me everything. I hope you're proud of me, like Clem said._

Sarah thought she heard the gate to the exit open up, but she thought nothing of it. But she knew that sleep wouldn't come when she heard the baby crying again, and Luke and Kenny bickering.

"Kenny, where's my baby?" Rebecca called.

"We head north, get to Wellington," Kenny instructed, walking back in. "That's our best shot."

"There's a town across the river, we might be safe there," Clementine pointed out.

"Or at least, it might be a good stop on the way."

"Clem's got a point," said Bonnie. "That could be a whole town full of supplies, and not that far from here."

Sarah got up to see what was going on, and stood next to Bonnie, placing her left hand on her right arm, a position that she stood in often.

"Whole lot better than here, anyway," Kenny replied. "Looks like that's our best bet. We need to get on the road as soon as possible. We leave at first light."

"Whoa, whoa! What are you talking about?" Luke argued. "Rebecca needs rest...a few days at the least!"

"Luke's right, she needs to rest," Clementine agreed. "We should wait a few days. Plus..." She looked over at Sarah. "Sarah needs to learn how to survive. That'll give me time to teach her."

"Maybe that's for the best, on both cases," Bonnie pointed out. "We shouldn't push Rebecca too hard."

"Just give me a day or two, Kenny," Rebecca told the bearded man. "I'll be fine."

"This is a mistake," Kenny replied.

"Look, we should all try and get some sleep, it's been a long day," Mike suggested, although hours had passed by now.

The group dispersed, and then it was only Clementine and Sarah.

"We can get started a little later," Clem suggested. "Are you still up for it?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "I want to be strong."

Clementine smiled lightly. "You will be."

Bonnie found a box of ammo, which was perfect for both the group's benefits and for teaching Sarah how to (properly) use a gun. When morning arrived, both Clementine and Sarah woke up early, and took a handgun downstairs with them. Sarah was clearly nervous, as she never really got the chance to practice when Clem showed her the first time.

"You remember what I told you, right?" Clementine questioned.

"What if...what if I make a mistake?" Sarah asked, looking down solemnly.

"You shouldn't worry if you don't get it the first time. That's how you learn."

"I guess..."

"I take a breath, but not too big...right?" Sarah inhaled only slightly.

"That's right," Clementine nodded. "See? You remember a bit."

She unlocked Sarah's elbows, and got behind her. Sarah was a little bit taller than she was, so it wasn't that easy. It was a lot easier for Lee, since she had been much shorter.

Sarah aimed her gun, a Jericho 941 F, at a glass cola bottle that was seated on a picnic table.

"Aim..." Clementine squinted, looking over Sarah's shoulder. "Aim a little bit to the right...good...you're close, now keep it steady..."

Sarah fired the gun, but missed the bottle. She squealed, and looked down at Clementine.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sarah's voice trembled, and looked ashamed. "I missed, I-I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, it's okay," Clem put her hands up. "You'll get it."

"My hands hurt, they feel really funny."

"That's normal," Clementine explained. "You'll get used to this, don't worry. Let's keep going."

"Are-Are you sure?"

As if to reply, Clementine positioned Sarah's arms in another aim.

"Try to aim to the left this time," she instructed, and Sarah obliged. "Okay, a little lower...good job...now, are you ready to shoot?"

Sarah nodded. She inhaled a little, and although her hands were a little shaky, she squeezed the trigger again. Much to her absolute surprise, the glass bottle shattered into a thousand pieces.

"I...I got it!" Sarah cried, her mouth open in shock.

"Good job, Sarah!" Clementine praised. "See? You can do this, but we should keep practicing, at least until we use up the ammo we brought."

Clem found an empty can this time, and put it on the picnic table to use as Sarah's practice. She was about to approach Sarah again, but stopped when she saw the fearful look on her older friend's face.

A walker, just one, appeared from the corner. It was too far away at the moment to pounce on the girls.

"I'm going to let you do this, Sarah," Clementine informed the older girl. "This'll be your first walker. Do you-"

"I...I...I don't know if I can," Sarah looked down. "What if something happens one day, and I...I can't save you, or anyone?"

"It'll be okay, just aim for the head. Be _very careful."_

Sarah nervously stood there for a moment, but slowly lifted the gun, aiming carefully. _Keep your elbows unlocked, aim cautiously, destroy the brain,_ she reminded herself. When she had her aim, she closed her eyes and fired the shot.

When she didn't hear the growls of the walker anymore, she opened her eyes and looked surprised at what she saw. The walker was lying on the ground face-first. Sarah had shot it clear through the head.

Sarah dropped the gun, her hands still trembling. "I...I can't believe I did that..."

"What's goin' on down here? I heard gunshots!" the concerned voice of Bonnie could be heard as the redheaded woman ran to see what was happening.

"Sarah just killed her very first walker," Clementine explained in a complimentary voice, smiling over at the fifteen-year-old. "She'll know how to survive in no time."

"Really?" Bonnie asked, glancing over the girls' shoulders and noticing the newly-dead walker. "Well, I'll be damned. Good job, Sarah."

"Thanks," Sarah replied shyly, looking at the ground where the gun lay at her feet.

"I would come back up to the deck soon," Bonnie explained. "Kenny's wonderin' where you girls went, he and Luke are about to go supply scavenging."

"We'll be there soon," Clementine assured the older woman.

Bonnie nodded. "I'll let everyone know what's happenin' here. Be careful, girls." She walked off.

When she walked off, Clementine turned to look at Sarah again. "Let's practice some more, okay?"

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**So I know that a lot of people doing this are having Sarah be taught to survive (sorry if this seems 'mainstream'), but...it would likely happen. :P Well, the next chapter will be the final one of Episode 4, and then we'll be moving on to the final episode, and then this story will be coming to a close. (If someone could please give me the Russian translations for the next chapter, that would be very highly appreciated). Please be sure to review! :D**


	18. Haircuts And An Ambush: End of Episode 4

**Thanks for reviewing, everyone, and thank you to Guest for letting me know where I could find the translations!**

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Sarah awoke to someone shaking her shoulder, and she looked up to see Clementine looming over her.

"Is it time to go already?" she asked, sitting up and putting on her glasses. She was starting to get used to the cracked lense.

It was two days later, the day the group would leave the observation deck. Kenny still believed that they should have left the day after the baby's birth, but nearly everyone voted against him. And to make things worse, it had begun to snow rather hard, and Rebecca looked even sicker than she had after bringing the baby into the world.

"Not yet," Clem responded. "Listen...we need to talk about your hair."

"My hair?" Sarah put her hands on the top of her head and began patting all around. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing! Nothing," Clementine reassured her. "It's just...it's not safe. You could get grabbed by something, and not just by a walker."

"What do you mean?"

Clementine sighed. "Well...I need to cut your hair. I need to make it short enough so it won't get grabbed."

Sarah looked down hesitantly. "I won't look like a boy, will I?" she pouted. "Can my hair look like yours?"

At that, Clem offered her a small smile. "I've got some extra hair thingies that a woman named Lilly gave me. I can put them in your hair." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of scissors. "Are you ready?"

"I guess," Sarah replied in an unhappy tone.

Clementine walked over behind Sarah and got down on her knees, while Sarah sat Indian-style in front of her. The first _snip_ made the older girl cringe, and it made her sad, because her mother would always tell her how beautiful her hair was, and now it would become much shorter. Sarah wiped a few tears from her eyes as she thought about her parents, who were now both dead.

Luckily, she was able to compose herself, and decided to chat with Clementine. "Clem?"

"Yeah?"

"Was..." Sarah swallowed, hoping that her friend wouldn't get mad at her next question. "Was Lee the one that cut your hair too?"

Clementine paused, but nodded. "Yeah, he was. He was also the one who taught me how to shoot a gun. He...died to keep me safe."

Sarah looked down sadly and played with her hands. She was beginning to feel coolness on the back of her neck. "I'm sorry. I won't talk about him anymore if you don't want."

"It's alright."

Eventually, Clementine stopped cutting, and Sarah felt her now-short hair behind pulled back gently, and something being tied. "Okay, I'm all done now!" Clem announced.

Sarah felt the top of her head, and petted her own little hair ties, just like Clementine's.

"Do...do I look okay?" Sarah asked softly.

"You look good, Sarah," Clem told her. "I would show you, but I can't find a mirror."

She would have suggested going out to practice using a gun a little more, as Sarah had become much better with a firearm over the last couple of days, but it was snowing pretty hard, plus it was very cold. Clementine got up and decided to leave Sarah be for a little while, until it was time to leave, which probably wouldn't be very long now.

Sarah backed herself up to the wall and began rubbing her arms, her blue jacket being pretty thin. She was hoping that the group would get someplace safe soon. A loud cough pulled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to Rebecca, who closed her eyes and leaned back. Sarah knew that she was very sick, but they were low on supplies, medicine included.

Just then, Kenny's loud voice boomed around the area. "Alright everyone, let's get movin'. I want to make it to that town before dark."

Sarah got up slowly and walked over to Rebecca, who was being helped up by Bonnie. Mike was holding the baby while she was getting up.

Sarah must have looked worried, because Rebecca looked over at her. "Don't worry about me, Sarah, okay? I'll be..." The woman coughed again, and shivered from the cold. "...all right."

Clementine walked over to see what was going on, and Bonnie seemed to finally notice them.

"Look at y'all, you could be like twins," she complimented, placing an arm around Rebecca. "I wish I had a camera. That's a nice haircut, Sarah."

The fifteen-year-old thanked her, and followed the group down the stairs to the exit (which took a little longer because Bonnie had to escort Rebecca). It was very windy, and snow was covering the ground everywhere. The temperature was very likely somewhere below zero.

The snow was coming down intensely, causing the group to slow down. They were nearly an hour into their journey when Rebecca suddenly collapsed, but Bonnie caught her before she could fall.

"You alright?" Bonnie inquired.

"She's exhausted," Luke pointed out. "We all are."

"I can't keep going," Rebecca whispered.

But Bonnie helped her up, and the group continued to trudge on.

"Sh-Should we stop to r-rest?" Sarah asked, her teeth chattering.

"We shoulda left right away...instead of waitin' around," Kenny announced, but he probably wasn't answering her question. "We could've found more food, and been someplace warm days ago!"

"We did the right thing, she was in no condition to move!" Luke argued.

"She's worse now!" Kenny retorted.

And he was right.

"We could turn back," Luke suggested.

"That's not an option," Kenny shot back. "Everybody hang in there, we gotta keep moving if we;re gonna make it to that town before nightfall."

"You don't even listen to anyone else, you just go around barking orders! You gotta lighten up, okay? You're pushin' em' too hard!"

"Has to be done, like always!"

"You're not helping anything by arguing," Clementine interjected.

"Well don't forget, you agreed with me about waitin' to leave camp until today!" Luke told her.

"Please, st-stop fighting!" Sarah cried, but no one listened to her.

Before anyone could reply, Rebecca fell over, and the baby began to cry. Sarah gasped lightly and backed away, unsure of what to do.

"Over here, there's a place to sit," Mike said, pointing over at a large tire.

"Rebecca, let me take the baby," Kenny offered.

Rebecca let out a sigh and sat down. "It's okay. I've got him."

"No, you rest for a minute. I'll watch him."

Sarah stood behind the group, wondering why Kenny was so attached to the baby as she rubbed her arms, which wasn't helping get her warm.

"Back off, Kenny. She said she didn't want you to take the baby," Luke scolded. "Don't be weird about it, okay?"

Rebecca began comforting the baby while Kenny and Luke were arguing. Sarah walked over and decided to stand near Rebecca and Bonnie, just in case something got out of hand.

"Hello!" a new voice called.

Everyone turned around, but they didn't see anything.

"Who is this?" Mike wanted to know.

"_ты меня слышишь?"_ the person called out. He seemed to be speaking Russian. ("Can you hear me?")

"...Arvo?" Clementine asked.

"Arvo?" Bonnie repeated.

"Jane and I met him on the observation deck, before everyone else came," Clem explained.

The male, called Arvo, came over towards the group, limping slightly. He didn't look too much older than Sarah, maybe around seventeen or eighteen years old.

"That's the guy?" Luke asked.

"You know this sonuvabitch? What's he want?" Kenny inquired.

"He don't look like much," said Bonnie.

"That ain't the point!"

"Hello!" Arvo called again. "Please!"

"We should help him," Clem announced. "We...kind of owe him one."

"Hm. All right," Luke agreed. "Everyone keep your eyes open!"

The group, minus Rebecca, walked forward, standing before the nervous-looking boy.

"Hello," Arvo greeted the group. "You are Clementine, yes?"

"What's goin' on here, friend?" Kenny questioned. "You got people with you? Where are they?"

"You're not out here on your own, are you?" Luke added.

As if to answer his question, the nearby bushes rumbled, and out came a woman with dark blonde hair who slightly resembled Arvo who was named Natasha, and two other men named Buricko and Vitali. All of them were pointing guns.

Sarah began breathing heavily and trembling, and stood behind Luke. "Who...Who are you?"

"These are my friends, we stay hidden for safety," Arvo told the group. He turned to Clem. "But you we know. You're Clementine."

_"Разве их?"_ Natasha asked. ("Is it them?")

_"Да, это их."_ ("Yes, it is them.")

_"Скажите им, чтобы положить свое оружие на земле, и что мы берем все, что они есть,"_ Buricko instructed. ("Tell them to put their guns on the ground and that we're taking everything they have.")

_"Что ты хочешь, чтобы я?"_ Arvo replied. ("What do you want me to take?")

_What are they saying? I can't understand them!_ Sarah thought fearfully. _Oh no, I can't breathe!_

_"Я не знаю. Как вы думаете, они? Может быть, у них есть пули!"_ ("I don't know. What do you think they have? Maybe they have bullets!")

"What did your friend say?" Clementine asked Arvo.

"I told them you are the ones who robbed me," Arvo responded. "They think it's funny that you're just a little girl."

"Robbed?" Kenny asked, looking down at Clementine.

"But we didn't take anything!" Sarah tried to shout, but her struggle to breathe made it come out as barely a whisper.

"...and they want you and your friends to put down the guns so we can take your things," Arvo continued.

"No, you aren't taking anything from us!" Clem retorted.

"They are not telling me to ask."

_"Что же вы ждете?"_ Buricko demanded. ("What are you waiting for?")

Arvo paused. "I wish we could have met differently, Clementine. But this is how it has to be."

Sarah jumped when everyone began taking out their guns.

_No...no!_ she pleaded in thought._ Why do we have to hurt them? We...we can reason!_

_"Аrvo, сказать им, чтобы поставить свои пистолеты!"_ Buricko ordered. ("Arvo, tell them to put their guns down!")

There were too many voices going on at once, most of them in Russian, that Sarah couldn't understand. She didn't go off into her own world this time, and with hesitation, she took out her own gun that Clementine had taught her to use. That didn't mean she wasn't afraid, however, and her hands were very shaky.

"We have a baby!" Clementine yelled.

Some more Russian voices began screaming out, the guns in both groups still pointed every which way.

"Don't get excited," Mike cautioned.

"I will _not_ let them touch that baby!" Kenny hollered.

_"Положите его, просто положить его вниз!"_ Vitali shouted. ("Put it, just put it down!")

"You have a baby with you?" Arvo asked, looking and sounding surprised._ "У них есть маленький ребенок!"_ ("They have a little baby!")

"Yeah. So back the FUCK up!" Kenny demanded over the screaming Russians. "Drop that now or I'm gonna fuckin' shoot!"

Over all this commotion, the baby began crying. Sarah whipped around and noticed that Rebecca was leaned forward, and no longer moving. She seemed to be to only one to be paying attention.

"No! Rebecca!" Sarah cried, lowering her gun.

"Please! Oh, no!" Arvo begged, but on the other situation.

"You! Don't even try it, motherfucker! I guarantee I'm a better shot than you are!" Bonnie yelled at Natasha. "I'll drop you both before you can blink!"

A slew of voices began yelling out again, and Sarah managed to scream out, "C-Clementine! Behind us!"

Clementine turned around slowly and noticed the unmoving Rebecca and the crying baby on her lap. But Rebecca wasn't still for long, because she began moving. Much to the girls' horror, the woman sat up, but her eyes were rolled back into her head. Sarah let out a scream, Rebecca was now a walker.

"HELP! REBECCA, NO!" Clementine yelled.

Kenny immediately ran to her aid, and shot Rebecca in the head. She fell forward, the baby still on her lap.

"NO!" Luke yelled.

That was when the gunshots began firing.

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**And that wraps up Episode 4, Amid The Ruins. This was probably my least favorite episode of the whole series so far, but I won't go into detail. We are coming down now to the final episode of this story. Now, please be sure to review!**

**My Episode Choices:**

**I saved Sarah at the trailer park (well no duh)**

**I didn't rob Arvo**

**I crawled through the ticket booth**

**I held the baby**

**I called for help as opposed to shooting Rebecca.**


	19. Shootout And Aftermath

**Thanks again for the feedback! We move on now to the start of Episode 5, No Going Back...**

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Sarah looked around fearfully. Rebecca had just died and turned no more than thirty seconds earlier, and now people were shooting each other all over the place. Why was this happening?

The raven-haired girl turned around and saw Vitali aiming right at her. She turned in the other direction and hid behind a destroyed stone wall, the bullet whizzing by her head and missing her by mere inches.

"Wh-Why is this happening?" Sarah whimpered, turning to Luke, who was crouched right next to her.

"Just stay close to me, alright?" Luke instructed as he turned around. "We're gonna be fine."

Clementine fell to the ground, and for a moment, Sarah feared the worst. But luckily, the eleven-year-old girl sat up and looked at her surroundings.

"Shit! I'm hit, I'm hit!" Mike cried.

"Mike, get over here!" Bonnie called to him.

Kenny immediately shot Natasha, causing Arvo to drop his gun and rush over, pumping his sister's chest in a desperate attempt to revive her.

Sarah gripped the back of Luke's shirt tightly, her gun on the ground next to her, as the latter fired more shots and called for Clem. Over all the yelling, Sarah heard the baby crying again and gasped lightly. He was somehow on the ground now, out in the open where someone could get him.

"What are you doin'?" Luke yelled at Clementine. "Get behind cover! You're out in the open!"

"Luke! Th-th-the baby!" Sarah stammered.

Luke immediately whipped around and noticed Clem crawl out fireman-style, luckily, over to the baby. She grabbed him and ran to the other part of the wall.

"Holy shit, I didn't even see him out there!" Luke exclaimed. "Good job, Clem."

He got up - Sarah still clinging to him - and fired another shot, but had to get back down. "Shit. Okay...okay, we gotta do somethin', y'all. We're pinned down here! We can't just...sit here and let this guy take potshots at us till he runs outta ammo!"

"So quit talking about it and do it!" Clementine snapped as the baby continued to scream.

"Yeah...yeah, all right," Luke agreed.

"This don't have to get any worse than it already is! You can just go!" Kenny shouted.

Buricko said something in Russian.

"English, motherfucker!"

"If I can just get over to the side of the wall, I could maybe get an angle on this guy," Luke pondered a plan. "Cover me, alright? Just shoot out towards the woods. That goes for both of you!" He glanced at Sarah.

"I'll...I'll try," Clem replied.

"Yeah? Well, okay. Good, good. I just need the distraction. Okay? Alright, on my go. Sarah, you stay here, and stay covered."

Sarah nodded obediently, shaking in fear, as Luke got into a ready position.

"GO!"

Luke got out from behind and began running, and Clementine and Sarah began shooting. Sarah didn't even know where she was aiming, she really didn't want to hurt anyone. And it hurt her having to do so.

"Hey, what are you-" Kenny began.

He was interrupted when Luke got shot in the leg, causing him to scream and fall over.

"LUKE!" Sarah yelled out, very close to a panic attack.

"Luke, no!" Bonnie cried.

That was when Kenny shot Buricko in the head, sending him down. It was only Vitali and Arvo left. Luke backed away behind the wall where the girls were.

"L-Luke! Are you okay?" Sarah asked frantically.

"I'll be fine, I'll be fine," Luke tried to assure her, hoping to calm her down, but both Sarah and Clem looked unsure. "He got me in the leg, but...I think...I think it went straight through...shit, I don't know." He let out a groan of pain and talked to Sarah again. "I'm gonna be fine, I think I'm gonna be fine."

Just then, Arvo began screaming out in Russian, and only Clementine looked out. Sarah was sitting on the ground with her hands over her ears, trying to compose herself and breathe.

"Let him go, Kenny!" Clementine called.

"Please! I don't want anyone else to die!" Sarah begged, overhearing everything.

There was some more shouting and yelling, and then, the familiar noise of a walker. Sarah and Clementine turned and saw that Natasha was now a walker.

Sarah screamed, and Clementine shushed her before shooting Natasha in the head.

"Natasha! Natasha, no, please!" Arvo pleaded, breaking free from Kenny and rushing back over to his sister, tears falling from his eyes. He glared over at Clementine.

Vitali yelled something out in Russian, but all went silent, causing Sarah to look up. Much to her surprise, Vitali had a knife in the back of his throat, and who was standing over him but the shocked face of Jane.

Why had she come back?

Vitali made some gargled noises, and Kenny immediately shot him in the head.

"It's safe to come out," he announced.

Bonnie approached Clem. "Here, I got him," she said, taking the baby.

"Jesus Christ, uh...that was intense," Luke commented.

"I thought...man, I thought that was it," Mike added.

"If it were for these assholes," said Kenny.

"Thanks...for coming back," Clementine told Jane.

"Yeah, I thought we were all gonna d-die," Sarah looked at the ground sheepishly, now having calmed down as she placed her hands behind her back.

"I didn't know this man...I've never killed someone that didn't wrong me in some way...that didn't deserve it," Jane replied. "Tried to pretend he was a walker...but...it's different."

"You saved us," Clementine responded.

"Yeah...that's why I did it, but...it felt wrong."

At that point, Sarah decided to go stand with the rest of the group so that Jane and Clementine could have their talk. Kenny tossed his rifle in Luke's direction.

"You keep hold of that," the bearded man instructed.

The baby began crying at a much softer rate, and Bonnie began rocking him gently. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the corpse of Rebecca, and she felt sick.

The remaining group held a moment of silence in Rebecca's honor.

"How did this happen?" Mike broke the silence.

"She...turned. Just like that," Luke explained.

"Clem and Sarah spotted it first...Clem did what she could to protect the child," Bonnie added.

"This ain't your fault, okay? She just...she just lost too much blood. It ain't nobody's fault. Ain't nothin' could've been done about her."

"She would've been a good mom," Clementine spoke up.

"Yeah...yeah, she would've," said Bonnie. She turned to the corpse. "Don't worry, Becca, we'll take care of your boy. You rest easy."

"We'll miss you, Rebecca," Sarah bowed her head.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Kenny yelled, startling everyone. He grabbed Arvo and began punching him.

"Hey, HEY!" Bonnie yelled, handing the baby to Clementine.

Mike and Luke ran over and pulled Kenny off of the boy.

"It's over now!" Mike shouted. "He ain't a threat to us!"

"How can you say that?" Kenny demanded. "Of course he is! Get out of the way!" He pulled out a revolver and aimed it at Arvo.

"Whoa, hold on! What are you doing?" Mike asked.

"I'm doin' the same thing this asshole tried to do to us!"

"Don't hurt him!" Sarah cried. "Don't hurt him, please!" She tried to step forward, but Bonnie placed a hand on her chest to hold her back.

"It doesn't have to go down this way..." Mike trailed off.

"He wasn't the one shooting at us! That guy's dead," said Clementine.

"Just 'cause he don't have a gun doesn't mean he wouldn't have!" Kenny argued.

"Well, he didn't. So leave him alone!"

"There is house, food...please, I can take you!" Arvo pleaded.

"Bullshit!" Kenny screamed.

"No, no! Is true. We have place, not far. Food!"

"See? He wants to help!" Luke defended him.

"I...I think we should trust him," Sarah piped up awkwardly, shuffling her feet.

"Oh, don't be stupid, both of y'all!" Kenny yelled. "He's just tryin' to save his own skin! Why the hell would you help us, huh?"

"I...I not want to see more people dead!" Arvo begged.

_Please...please don't kill him!_ Sarah thought.

"Then close your eyes and I'll make it quick," Kenny hissed.

"Kenny, back off," Mike scolded.

"If he's telling the truth, it could save all of us!" Bonnie tried to reason.

"We need the food," Clementine spoke up. "None of this will matter if we all starve to death!"

"She's right, Kenny. We're runnin' low on supplies as it is!"

"It's worth the risk to check this place out. Trust him don't trust him, it doesn't matter," Jane explained. "We should go anyway. We just need to be careful. It can't be far from here."

"You stay outta this!" Kenny screamed at her. "You're the reason these fuckers came after us in the first place!"

"Don't try and pin this on me," Jane retorted.

"Lay off her, Kenny. She just helped us!" Luke said in her defense.

"Look, don't start, alright?" Kenny told him. "I'm sure you're real excited to have your girlfriend back."

Clementine looked like she wanted to say something else, but remained silent.

"Think about the baby, Kenny!" Bonnie pleaded of Kenny. "If there are supplies, we need 'em! We ain't gonna last much longer without more food! We gotta take a chance."

As if to agree, the baby began crying, and Sarah's stomach growled. The teenager frowned and placed a hand on her stomach.

"Unless someone's got a better plan," Jane shot out.

Kenny hesitated, but put the gun down. "We got somethin' to tie this shitbird up?"

"Yeah, we got something," said Bonnie.

"Follow me, I take you," Arvo announced.

"Just gimme a reason."

"Yeah man, he gets it!" Luke snapped.

And the group journeyed on. It was a slightly faster walk since Rebecca was, unfortunately, no longer with them, but Luke had to hold on to Mike in order for him to walk a little more probably.

Sarah walked on the other side of Luke. "Your leg...will it...?"

"I'll be fine, Sarah, okay?" Luke turned to her and gave her a weak smile as he limped. He had a pained expression on his face then. "Don't worry about me."

She turned away shyly. "I hope we get there soon. It's really cold out."

"Yeah, I know."

"You don't gotta point the gun at him the whole time!" Mike told Kenny.

"You forget what we just went through?" Kenny shot back.

"He ain't goin' anywhere, Kenny!" Bonnie added. "No need to get your arm all sore."

There wasn't anymore arguing at that. Clementine and Jane stopped briefly to talk about something that Sarah couldn't catch, except for something about Kenny.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Bonnie called.

The walk continued, and it took no more than an hour for the group to need to stop again, when Luke let out a cry of pain shooting through his leg. Sarah rushed over to his other side and helped him up.

"You're really hurt," she said sadly, hoping to catch Kenny' or someone else's attention. "Should we stop?"

Luke grunted again. "No! No, I'm...I'm fine, okay? I just need a second. Sorry. I just...I think I put more weight on it than I should've."

"All right, wait there!" Kenny instructed Arvo. When the teenager tried to limp away, Kenny spoke louder to him. "Hey! What'd I say?"

He immediately ran up and pushed Arvo down, causing Sarah to flinch. "When I tell you something, you fuckin' listen, you understand?"

"Kenny, come on! There's no need for that!" Mike shouted.

"He's gettin' what he deserves."

Luke and Sarah sat down on a log with Mike standing before them, while Kenny continued to yell obscenities at Arvo until Clementine told him to leave him alone.

"I'm gonna have a word with Kenny, he doesn't have to treat him this way," Mike announced. "Kid's been through enough. You all right here?" He said the last part to Bonnie.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on and talk to him," Bonnie replied. "I've got Clem if I need anything."

"Okay."

"Here, just...take the baby."

"Okay..." Mike seemed nervous, but gathered the baby in his arms anyway, and went to talk to Kenny.

Bonnie knelt down beside Luke. "What is it with y'all?"

"What do you mean?" the man inquired.

"Every man I've known is always tryin' to let each other knowhow tough they are. Put 'em in their...place. Buncha dominant, alpha-male horseshit. It all ends the same way.

"Well, don't look at me, I ain't that guy!" Luke cried defensively.

"They're not all that bad," Clem added. "There are good men, too. My friend Lee...he was a good man."

"Well, I wish I'd had a chance to meet him," Luke replied.

"Me too," Sarah spoke softly.

"Me too, I wish he was here now," said Clementine.

Luke looked over at Mike, Kenny, and Jane. "Guess it took a woman to talk some sense into 'em. I guess Jane broke it up."

"Keep pressure on it, okay?" Bonnie questioned. "I'm gonna go fetch some bandages."

"Hey, Bonnie?" Luke asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"..." Luke didn't say anything.

"I'll be right back."

As Bonnie walked off, Luke yelled out in pain again. "Dammit."

"How are you feeling?" Clem wanted to know.

"To be honest...I've felt better." There was a pause. "How did we get here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sittin' in the snow...leaning up against a tree...bullet in my leg...but alive," Luke replied. "When so many of my friends are dead...for no good reason...and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Everyone we set out with, just...gone. Nick, Pete, Alvin and Becca, Carlos...and for what?"

Sarah gasped softly and squeezed her eyes shut, lowering her head. Other than this morning, she didn't really think about Carlos, likely because learning how to survive had pushed him out of her mind. There were tears in her eyes, and her breaths became shaky.

_I'm sorry, Daddy,_ she thought. _I really want you here._

"You can't blame yourself," Clementine told him. "It wasn't your fault."

"No...not completely." Sarah's breaths caught his attention, and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit. Sarah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"I-It's okay," the teenager whimpered in response. "You can...go on."

Luke turned back to Clementine. "I could've done more. And that ain't up for debate. I know it in my bones...and I've gotta live with it."

"All right, this should work," Bonnie approached the three with a blue bandage.

"That's perfect," Luke said appreciatively.

"What'd I miss?" Bonnie knelt down again.

"Nothing important..." Clem trailed off.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Bonnie looked slightly offended, but then calmed down. "Hey Clem, see if you can change the bandage on Kenny's wound. I offered, but...I don't think he was comfortable with me doing it."

"Okay."

Bonnie handed her a bottle of peroxide. "That's gonna sting, but only for a second. It's gonna clean it."

"I know what it does...it's gonna suck."

"It's gotta get done," Luke pointed out.

Clementine stood up, and Bonnie ushered her to go on. For the rest of the break, Sarah took the time to think of her fallen loved ones, and tried to keep herself together.

**\\\\**

**Oh look, more dialogue. :P But oh well. So...not much will change from this episode, most of the events will go as originally plotted (sorry Luke fans, I like him too but...). Now, please leave a review! :D**


	20. Birthday Around A Campfire

**Thank you for reviewing, you guys, now on with the story!**

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"Well, his eye isn't lookin' near as bad," Luke commented as Bonnie wrapped the bandage around his injured leg.

Sarah remained quiet, as she was deep in thought after Luke's speech. But she looked in Kenny's direction and couldn't help but cringe. It was hard to believe that someone could be capable of providing such an injury.

Bonnie turned around and saw Clementine re-wrap Kenny's eye bandage. "I think it's best that we go now."

She walked off, and Mike walked over to Luke and helped him up again. Sarah walked slowing behind them, looking at the snowy ground. She didn't feel much like talking.

"Let's head out," Bonnie instructed.

The group had learned that Kenny had decided to name the baby Alvin Junior, or AJ, after his father. Everyone seemed to be partial to that name, and Sarah knew that Rebecca and Alvin would have appreciated it.

The sky soon turned to dusk, signaling that the day would soon be coming to a close. Arvo led the group to a fenced area by a tower, and stopped at the hill before it. Sarah took a seat on another log.

"Is that it?" Kenny asked almost rudely. When Arvo didn't reply, Kenny yelled at him again. "Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

"What?" Arvo questioned cluelessly. "It...it what?"

"What do you mean 'what?' The place you're fuckin' takin' us!"

"He doesn't speak much English," Jane told him.

"Yeah, no shit!" Kenny turned back to the teenage boy. "Is that it? I thought you said it was a house!"

"Arvo, is this where the supplies are? Where the food is?" Clementine inquired.

"Answer her, goddamn it!" Kenny demanded, pointing his gun at Arvo.

"No! Is...at the house. Is still more walk. Some more hours."

Sarah looked up and listened intently, as she drew random doodles in the snow with a stick that she'd found.

"Goddamn it! I knew this was gonna happen. This guy fucked us!"

Mike let go of Luke, and the latter sat on the log next to Sarah.

"Thank you," Luke breathed.

"Don't mention it," said Mike.

"It's gettin' dark, maybe we should stop for the night," Bonnie suggested.

"This is bullshit," Kenny snapped.

"Relax," Jane spoke up.

"Don't tell me to relax!" Kenny argued. "He's lying. He's been lying this whole time!"

"You don't know that," Mike told him.

"I know we've been walking all day and we're still fuckin' nowhere!"

"Stop fighting!" Clem shouted. "Can we just all try to have a calm, quiet night? Where we're not at each others' throats?"

"Please?" Sarah added innocently. "I don't like fighting."

"That sounds nice," Bonnie replied.

"Yeah, yeah it does," Luke agreed.

All of the arguing seemed to scare AJ, because he began crying in Kenny's arms.

"Oh shit, sorry about that...it's all right, buddy," Kenny comforted him. "It's all right."

"If we're staying, we should scout this place out," Jane pointed out.

"Alright, y'all wait here. I'll go make sure this ain't some walker nest we're lockin' ourselves into."

"I'll go with you."

"See if..." Kenny handed AJ to Clementine. "See if you can calm him down a bit."

As Kenny walked off, Clem looked over at Sarah, Luke, and Mike, who shook his head and folded his arms.

"Nope. That's all you."

"Shh...it's okay," Clementine comforted the baby, who immediately stopped crying and smiled.

"I think he likes you, Clem," Sarah told her younger friend with a small smile. She wished she could be as good with a baby as Clementine, Kenny, or anyone else in the group could be.

"Calmed right down for ya," Bonnie added, walking towards Clementine.

"He's cute," said Clementine.

"Yeah. Most babies are pretty ugly this soon after bein' born."

"I've never seen an ugly baby..." Sarah trailed off.

"Alright, it's safe!" Kenny called as he and Jane walked back. "Let's go."

So Mike helped Luke up, and the group began walking towards their shelter for the night. Sarah waited for Clementine to catch up, and the two girls walked together.

It was pretty easy to find some wood for a fire (including the stick that Sarah had been playing with earlier), and soon everyone except for Jane and Arvo were seated all around, getting warm.

Luke broke the silence. "Today's my birthday."

That caught Sarah's attention. How could she have forgotten? She usually remembered everyone's birthdays, and was always the first to make a comment on it.

"Happy birthday, Luke!" she chirped from her spot between Mike and Kenny, acting like her old self for the first time since before being held hostage at Carver's camp.

"Yeah, happy birthday," said Mike.

"So, that makes you, what? 27?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm surprised you remembered. I sure as hell feel a lot older."

"Don't even start with that shit," Kenny teased.

"Got out of college five years ago...feels like a million years." Luke looked down, an upset expression on his face. "At least I don't have to worry about payin' off them student loans."

"I hear that," Mike agreed. "I'm sure there's some asshole sittin' on that paperwork...waitin' to collect."

"What did you study?" Clementine asked.

Luke smiled. "Majored in art history."

"What's that?" Sarah wanted to know.

"Well...you study basically the concept of art, like the style, visuals...you know, that sort of thing."

"Oh."

"That's cool," said Clementine.

"Heh, sounds like you majored in workin' in a coffee shop," Kenny told the younger man.

"Pretty much," Luke agreed.

"Oh, stop it," Bonnie teased.

"Did get a minor in agriculture. Keep the old man happy."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Bonnie piped up, and began reaching into her backpack. "Was savin' it for a special occasion and...well, it bein' your birthday and all...figure...this is as good a time as any!"

The redheaded woman pulled out a bottle of red rum. Sarah realized that it was one of those "grown-up drinks," as Carlos had referred to it as one day, and she couldn't drink it.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Clementine inquired.

"Clementine, after the day we've had...I think it's the best idea I've got."

"I agreed with that," said Mike.

"I think she's just sayin' to take it easy," Kenny pointed out.

"Right," Luke agreed. He looked down at the bottle. "I feel a little guilty takin' the first-"

"Whoa, wait! You gotta make a toast," Bonnie cut him off.

"I'm not really the, uh..."

"Come on, birthday boy. It don't have to be fancy."

"A toast means we all got somethin' to drink," Mike told Bonnie.

"We can just pass the bottle around afterwards," Bonnie replied, turning to Luke. "Go on."

Luke paused, cleared his throat, and held up the bottle of rum. "To the loved ones that we've lost along the way...and to the hope that we see them again...someday."

"Here, here!" Mike agreed.

Sarah looked down at the ground and sighed, her father once again on her mind. She couldn't cry, not anymore. At least not for the time being. She played with her hands as happy memories danced through her mind.

"That was real nice," Bonnie commented.

"Yeah? Well, I didn't mean for it to rhyme, but..." Luke began.

"Well, I got first watch," Kenny interrupted as he got up, AJ still in his arms.

"I think the fence is pretty secure," Mike pointed out.

"We cant be too careful."

"The baby might be cold," said Bonnie.

"Nah, I'll keep him warm. He's a tough little guy."

"Come on, Kenny. Just sit a while longer," Clementine coaxed the bearded man.

"Nah, you stay warm," Kenny brushed her off.

"Clem, let him go," Bonnie instructed.

"I'm gonna post up over near the hole in the fence there," Kenny announced. "Holler if ya need anything."

"Thanks, Kenny," Luke looked down.

Bonnie turned and called to Jane, "Fire's real nice. Plenty of room if you want to get warm."

"Maybe in a bit," Jane responded.

"Why is she there by herself?" Sarah wondered out loud.

"She probably wants to be alone, don't prod her too much," Mike told her.

"I didn't expect her to come back," Bonnie told no one in particular. "Just when I thought I got her figured out, she up and surprises."

"It's a good thing, she saved our ass," Mike replied.

"We're lucky to have her...I'm glad she's here," Clementine announced.

"She saved me, back at that observation deck," said Sarah. "She didn't want to, though. But she saved me." She offered a small smile. "Now I can say thank you."

"And she helped us back there, so that makes her okay in my book," Luke added.

"Well, it ain't no secret how you feel about her," Bonnie told him. When Luke looked regretfully, she continued. "Oh come on, I'm just teasin'."

"It was stupid."

"I understand. She's a pretty girl...once you get past all the dirt and guts."

_Ew,_ Sarah thought.

"I don't know...I guess I just..." Luke trailed off. "...wanted to forget about all this shit for like, ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? Man, that's longer than I'd last at this point," Mike smiled.

"Hey," Bonnie chuckled, "we got a little one around. Well, there's another that may not know what you're talkin' about, either." She nodded in Sarah's direction.

"We do know what you guys are talking about," Sarah argued, but not rudely.

"I certainly hope not!" Bonnie teased.

"We do," Clementine replied. "You're talking about...kissing stuff."

"Yeah, that's it!" Sarah exclaimed. But then she made a face of disgust. "You guys probably kissed...on the_ lips!"_

"Uh, yeah! Yes, yes, that's exactly it," Luke answered, humoring the girls.

"Was there any kissing involved?" Mike teased.

"Oh, shut it now, both of you!" Bonnie scolded Luke and Mike. Luke smiled up at her, and she talked again. "Maybe she came back for you..."

"Could be," Mike agreed.

"I don't know what to say to that," Luke told him.

"I'd come back for you," said Clementine.

"I would, too!" Sarah added.

"You know what we mean," Clem frowned when the group stared at them, looking away.

"Thank you, girls," said Luke. "I'd do the same."

"Luke's a regular casanova," Mike smirked.

"Hey, shut up!"

"Don't be modest. Your moves are workin' on all the ladies."

"...worked on me," Bonnie spoke up after a moment, taking a sip of the rum. "Shit!" she put her hand to her forehead. "I just did it too, didn't I? Sorry, it's the drink talkin'."

"They say a drunk man's talk is a sober man's thoughts."

"Well, I ain't a 'man,' so 'they' can take that shit somewhere else." Bonnie then turned to Clementine, handing the bottle back to Luke. "Clem, go see if you can get Jane and Kenny over by the fire. It's too cold for them to be out there."

Clementine nodded and walked away over to Jane. Sarah looked up at Bonnie.

"What does that taste like?" she inquired innocently.

"What, the rum?" Bonnie smiled down at her.

"Uh-huh."

"You wanna find out?" Mike smirked.

"Come on, now, she's only..." Bonnie scolded, looking at him, and then looking at Sarah again. "...sixteen or so, right?"

"I'm fifteen," Sarah replied, secretly liking that Bonnie thought she was slightly older than her actual age. It made her feel grown-up, and important.

"I think you're a little young for this," Bonnie told her, sounding like a mother.

"Please? What does it taste like?"

"I don't think you'll like it, Sarah," Luke seemed to agree with Bonnie.

"Okay," Sarah pouted.

Bonnie couldn't help but snicker.

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**And there's the first somewhat happy chapter since...Chapter 6 or so? XD I don't know. I didn't have Bonnie give the rum to Clementine just for the sake of that last part. Well, I'll see you all tomorrow, so please review!**


	21. Goodbye, My Last Friend

**I think most if not all of you have a pretty clear idea of what happens in this chapter. :/**

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Clementine had managed to convince Kenny to rejoin the group, but as for Jane, well, she had to be convinced with the bottle of rum. When Jane took a seat to the left of Sarah, the latter looked at her awkwardly, wondering when there would be a good time to thank her for saving her life. She would wait until they were alone.

"It's hard not to give into temptation nowadays," Jane chuckled, warming her hands by the fire.

Sarah frowned at her. The group was still talking about "kissing stuff," but they were rewording it so that the kids wouldn't find out.

"Jane, you don't need to justify that with a response," said Bonnie.

"Hey, I find it's best to just get this stuff out in the open," Mike spoke up. "Less drama."

"Well, that's fine," Jane replied. "But I can confirm that there was no time for kissing."

"So...you guys _didn't_ kiss? Not even on the lips?" Sarah inquired.

There was an awkward silence, and Luke scratched the back of his neck with a secretive smile on his face, keeping his dirty thoughts from the ever-so-curious teenager.

"Shh, shh, enough of that, we'd best stop now," Bonnie put her hands up. Clementine had now returned to the fire and sat back in her place. "Hey, Clem."

"It's nice to hear people laughing," the eleven-year-old commented.

"Yeah, it is," Kenny agreed.

"It's like we're not allowed to be happy anymore," Sarah pointed out, looking at the ground sadly as she hugged her knees.

"You just spend so much time tryin' to stay alive that...you don't get a chance to enjoy livin'," Luke added.

"Yeah, we need to make more time for that," Bonnie responded.

"Alcohol helps."

"Hell yeah it does."

Mike laughed lightly, and Sarah cocked her head to the side in confusion as she was unaware what "alcohol" even was. The group was silenced for a moment when they heard sobbing.

"Let me get that bottle," said Mike. "We got someone else that might need some help."

"Sounds like a waste of good rum," Kenny told him as he handed the bottle to Clementine.

"He lost his sister today," Bonnie tried to reason.

"And whose fault is that?"

"That makes it even harder to deal with...trust me," Jane answered.

"Kenny, please, don't let it ruin a nice night," Clem turned to him.

Kenny looked back at her, and looked down. "I said my piece."

"I don't think that boy's a bad person," Bonnie decided. "I just think good people do bad things sometimes. And they do it a lot more nowadays with the world bein' what it is. So...I think it's best to just..."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arvo screamed, cutting her off and startling the group.

"Sorry, man, my fault," Mike backed away. "I shouldn't-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arvo repeated. He began muttering to himself in Russian.

"It's okay...it's okay..." Mike tried to comfort him, bending down next to him. "She's in a better place."

Arvo sobbed out some more Russian words. Sarah felt a very high amount of pity for the slightly older boy, seeing as they had both lost family members that had meant the world to them.

"Maybe it's best if we all get some rest," Bonnie suggested. "Who knows how long a walk we got tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Jane turned to the other woman.

"I'll take first watch," Kenny offered, getting up.

"Thank you, Kenny. Really," Bonnie called to him.

Kenny turned around. "I...don't mention it." He turned around and walked off, still carrying AJ.

"You did good," Bonnie complimented Clementine. "It was nice while it lasted."

Sarah lay down and put her head on her arms. "I wish those mean people hadn't tried to hurt us."

"Me too, Sarah, me too," Luke sighed. "Get some sleep now. That goes for everyone."

The group barely had time to wake up the next morning before they had to continue to trek on. Every fifteen minutes or so, Kenny would ask the same question, and he would always get the same answer. This continued on until well into the mid-morning.

"You sure you're good?" Mike asked, waiting for Luke to catch up with his injured leg. Sarah was behind him, hoping to help by catching him along with Mike in case he fell over.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Luke answered. "If I start to crap out, I'll let you guys know."

"Okay, well, you do that. It's no trouble," Mike reassured him. He was the one currently holding AJ.

"How much further?" was the question that Kenny continuously asked.

"Close. Very close," Arvo would reply.

"You've been sayin' that every time I ask!" Kenny pointed out finally.

"Please. Come."

The familiar moaning sound of a walker was heard then, and out of nowhere, it was going right for Kenny.

"Look out! There's a walker!" Clementine warned.

"What the fuck!" Kenny yelled, as the walker tackled him to the ground. He let out a scream, causing fear among the group.

"Kenny!" Bonnie shouted.

Sarah didn't even hesitate to pull out her gun this time. After a very careful aim, she squeezed the trigger, killing the walker instantly. Clementine, who had had the same plan, looked very surprised to see her older friend looking afraid, her gun still pointed at the now-dead walker with shaky hands. Her entire body was trembling, but she had managed to save a life. Sarah was _brave_ now, and she hoped that she could stay that way.

"Jesus Christ!" Kenny exclaimed, pushing the walker off of him. Alvin Junior began to howl.

"That was close," Mike approached them with the crying baby.

"Fucker came outta nowhere!"

"That was real loud, hopefully there aren't more of them," Bonnie explained.

Sarah finally lowered her gun and looked at Clementine, who smiled at her as if to say, "Good job."

"Well, we'd better get moving," Jane instructed. "I don't want to be around to find out."

"Is very close," Arvo spoke up. "Come."

The group walked a little ways more, and about a minute later, Arvo stopped. "There."

"That piece of shit?" Kenny scoffed. "It's half-built!"

"We're here for the supplies, not the house," Jane told him.

"Is warm. Fireplace. Very warm," Arvo replied.

"I'd just like a place to sit, if I'm honest," Luke commented.

"How do we get there?" Sarah inquired. "There's water all around."

"We should've stuck to the treeline," said Jane.

"The fastest way between two..._things_ is a straight line," Kenny told Clementine.

"It's not far, just be on the lookout," Bonnie instructed. "There might be a way around."

"I don't see any," Luke pointed out.

Arvo began speaking in Russian, but Kenny cut him off and told him to speak English.

"Is okay. Walk. Ice."

"No shit, ice! That's the problem!"

"I think we should all go, slowly," Clementine suggested.

"We need to spread out...just to be safe," Jane agreed. "Less weight, the better."

Sarah wrapped her arms around herself in worry. She had been told that frozen lakes could be very dangerous, and was nervous and scared enough as it was.

"Let the Ruskie go first...since he's so confident," said Kenny.

"Is okay," Arvo replied.

He turned around and began walking towards the river, and the group began following. When Sarah heard a small cracking noise, she gasped and looked down. She could feel the roots of her anxiety climbing up.

"Keep walking," Jane instructed of her slowly, looking almost annoyed. "You're gonna be _fine."_

A slightly louder cracking noise was heard, and Sarah whipped around. She could tell just how thin the ice really was when she saw crack marks appear under Clem's foot.

"We're gonna be okay," Luke assured the group.

The low moaning of walkers was heard then, causing Sarah to breathe deeply, as if hoping not to lose it.

"We've got some walkers behind us," Jane pointed out like it was obvious.

"It's only a few of them, we should be alright," Mike answered.

"Let's just get to the house," Bonnie spoke up, and kept going.

Arvo picked up his pace as if to try and get away, but he wasn't getting away with that.

"Hey, stay with us!" Kenny called.

A splashing noise was heard, causing the group to jump and turn around. Sarah's legs began to shake, she was almost too afraid to move anymore, but she had to remind herself to be _strong._

"That's two less to deal with," Jane commented nonchalantly.

"We'll just stay spread out and we'll be fine!" Bonnie exclaimed.

While the group was distracted, Arvo began to run away.

"HEY!" Kenny yelled out to him, and ran after him. "Motherfucker."

"Shit, he's gonna kill him!" Mike cried, following them to the other side with AJ still in his arms.

"Kenny!" Bonnie screamed.

"Come back here, you piece of shit!" Kenny ignored her and continued to chase Arvo.

But the teenager was stopped when some ice gave out under him, causing him to nearly fall in. Sarah ran a few steps forward, but stopped when she felt some more ice begin to crack. She didn't want to fall in.

"Well, they made it," Jane noted, beginning to walk across again, as did Bonnie, Clementine, and after hesitating for just a moment, Sarah.

But they had only taken a couple of steps when the noise of cracking ice was heard again. The four females stopped, and were shocked to see Luke standing completely still, the ice of the lake about to break.

"Luke! M-Move!" Sarah called to him apprehensively.

"Don't come over here!" Luke instructed when Bonnie took a step forward. "Okay, I can make it. It's fine!"

"You sure?" Bonnie questioned.

"Yeah."

But when the groaning became closer, Bonnie spoke up. "You got walkers on the way, let me help you!"

"It's too thin for both of us, I just...I just gotta be careful-"

The ice finally broke out underneath Luke, causing him to nearly fall (and Sarah to let out a scream of fear).

"Luke, no!" Bonnie screamed. She and Sarah and Clementine began to run over.

"Stop, stop!" Luke yelled, and they all obeyed. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"

"No, you're not!"

Sarah's breaths now came out in very short gasps when she saw the walkers coming right for Luke. She was almost on the verge of tears, but she wasn't going to let fear consume her. Not anymore.

"You need help, Luke!" Clementine shouted.

"The ice is too thin, I got it," the older man reassured her.

"You need to help," Bonnie told Clementine. "Sarah, I need you to use your new shootin' skills to your advantage."

"No!" Luke argued.

"Clem, go help him!"

"No, Clem, do NOT!"

"Clem, just go back for him! You're light, you can do it! Sarah, get out your gun."

"Stop tellin' her that!" Luke scolded. "Clem, Sarah, look at me. Pull out your guns and shoot those damn walkers, okay? Just give me a little time!"

"But..." Sarah gasped out. "But-"

"Just do as he says, Sarah!" Bonnie interrupted. "Clem, you can make it, but you need to go, now!"

"No! Clem, it's too dangerous," Luke disagreed.

Clementine began to slowly walk over to help Luke, despite the pleas of Kenny and Mike telling her to stop.'

"Sarah, start shooting _now!"_ Bonnie yelled.

Sarah remembered the clear instructions. _Take a breath, aim for the head. Take a breath, aim for the head._ She repeated this one more time, and then squeezed the trigger. The first walker shot back, and then fell dead.

Both Clementine and Luke fell through the water, causing Sarah to scream out, and began to cry softly. But nonetheless, she continued to help Bonnie with the shooting.

Eventually, all the walkers were dead, but still no sign of Luke or Clementine.

"They're-they're trapped!" Sarah sobbed. "How are they-"

"They're gonna be _fine,_ Sarah!" Bonnie cried, but the look of fear told the fifteen-year-old that she was unsure about that herself.

Jane ran up and reached into the water, pulling a weak Clementine out.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" she whispered. "It's okay, I got you. I got you!"

"WHERE'S LUKE?" Sarah hollered, tugging on her dark hair in fear, her gun still in her left hand.

"Come on, come on..." Jane coaxed Clementine. "Come on, you're gonna be okay." She gathered Clementine up. "GO! To the house, we need a fire!"

Bonnie and Sarah began running to the house, the latter wondering why Luke hadn't come out of the water also.

"Oh fuck, she's gonna fucking freeze to death!" Jane swore as she carried Clem to the house.

"How the fuck did that happen?" Kenny shouted.

The woman practically kicked open the door. "There's a fireplace!"

"Jesus Christ!" Mike exclaimed.

"We have to get her warm! She's gonna freeze to death!" Jane put Clementine down on a bench. She took off the rainbow jacket that the young girl was wearing and ran to get some wood.

Sarah decided to help, and looked around for something to keep Clementine warm. She locked eyes with a somewhat thick white sheet that could be used as a blanket, and grabbed it.

"I found this!" Sarah ran back over to the group, and approached Clementine, her face still looking scared. "Here, this will keep you warm."

"Th-Thanks, Sarah," Clementine gratefully took the blanket and wrapped it around herself. She then turned her attention to Kenny and Mike, who were arguing over Arvo. "I'm still cold. Can we just get a fire started?"

"Look at this place. Just a stack of fuckin' toothpicks!" Kenny complained. "Bet those magical 'supplies' are bullshit, too!" When Arvo didn't reply, he continued. "What? _No speaka da English?"_

"Fuck you," Arvo hissed.

"You fuckin' Commie piece of shit!" Kenny yelled, punching the teenager in the face.

"Fuck you!" Arvo repeated, as Kenny sat on top of him and began hitting him.

"Kenny!" Mike cried.

Sarah backed herself a little further away and began to cry again softly, placing her hands over her ears. The way Arvo was being treated was scaring her, and now Luke was most likely dead.

The world was a very shitty place, and if Sarah wasn't quite as experienced to it when Carlos died, well...she completely understood now.

Clementine got up and tried to help, but Kenny accidentally elbowed her in the face, looking regretful when he did so.

"Just stop," Clementine instructed, almost looking as if she would cry herself.

Luckily, Kenny got up, but Arvo had a bloody nose and bruises all over his face. His injuries reminded Sarah of when Carver tortured her father back at the ski lodge, and she cried harder.

"What? Lose your taste for this sort of thing?" Kenny snapped at Clem.

Bonnie got up to try and tend to Sarah. "Honey, listen, just sit down and try to relax-" She tried to place a hand on Sarah's shoulder, but the teenager let out a yell and backed away, going to sit by the wall behind Clementine.

"What did you do to him?" Jane demanded, carrying wood and a bag of supplies. "There's another bag just like it. He _wasn't_ lying!"

A can of chili fell out, and Kenny picked it up.

"You wanna tell me how a can of fuckin' chili is gonna help a baby?" Kenny snarled. The group had run out of baby formula the day before.

"How is beating a kid to death gonna help anyone?" Jane argued.

"Stop fighting, just stop FIGHTING!" Sarah screamed from the corner.

Whatever exchange of dialogue there was next, Sarah didn't listen, just kept her hands over her ears and let the tears flow freely. She watched as Kenny tied Arvo up to a half-finished staircase.

The room felt slightly warmer then, as Jane and Mike were able to start a fire, with Clementine's help with a nail file given to her by Jane (before she left).

Things became very quiet except for Sarah's soft sobs. Everyone that she had been with back at the cabin was now gone. Just...dropped dead like flies in only a two-week period of time.

She was all alone now.

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**I know Luke was supposed to be a determinant character, and it sucks that they just changed it last minute (from what I heard, it was all because of an obsessive Cluke shipper who wouldn't stop insulting people on YouTube). :/ Poor Sarah, she's the only one in her cabin group still alive now as opposed to Luke. Well, as always, please review!**


	22. The Night Following

**Thank you for the feedback. I agree that it was sad to see Luke go, but you know with Telltale Games...**

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After a few hours, Sarah managed to pull herself together, although she still felt very upset about what had happened at the frozen lake. Nothing she could do would bring back Luke, or Carlos, or anyone else in her group.

She stood up and looked down to her left. Clementine had fallen asleep by the fireplace, someone having placed the white blanket over her, so she quietly walked away so as to not disturb her.

Sarah looked outside and saw Kenny working on a truck, and Arvo was still tied to the staircase. AJ was lying in a small makeshift crib, sleeping. There was no sign of Bonnie, Mike, or Jane. She turned towards Arvo again, cringing at the injuries, and decided to go and check on him.

Arvo heard her approaching, but didn't say anything and looked away. Sarah knelt down next to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "You're hurt. I can help you...if you want." She offered the older boy a small smile in hopes that it would comfort him at least a little bit.

Despite what Sarah had seen, what all she had gone through at this point, she was still willing to help people.

But Arvo shook his head and turned away, talking to himself in Russian.

"Let me take a look at you, kid," Mike told him as he walked up. He sat next to Sarah and inspected Arvo. "Jesus! He could have killed you. The fuck is wrong with him?"

"Should...should we do something?" Sarah looked up at the man. "He might need help."

Mike sighed. "I don't know. I'll handle it."

Sarah nodded and got up, noticing that Clementine was now awake and sitting next to Jane on the bench. Jane handed Clementine the can of chili for her to eat.

"I can't believe he's gone," Jane muttered. "I've lost people before, but...it just hasn't felt this...this shitty in awhile."

"He was a great guy," Clementine replied, as she and Luke had been rather close during their time together, possibly closer than she was with Sarah.

Sarah approached them then, and Clem offered her the can of chili, which she took gratefully. She sat down on the floor by the fireplace and ate a little bit. The chili had a spicy meat flavor. It had been a few days since she'd last eaten anything, so it felt good.

"I shouldn't have come back," Jane looked at the ground sadly.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Clementine smiled.

"I am too," Sarah agreed, setting the chili aside.

"I'm gonna find something to clean that up," Mike told Arvo as he got up.

"Feelin' better?" Kenny asked Clementine as he made his way back inside.

"Yeah," said Clementine.

"Hell of a day. But we gotta get movin'. If you're feelin' up to it, I could use a hand out back with this truck. This house ain't worth a crap, but the vehicles ain't in bad shape. With a little luck, we can get one fixed up and be outta here by nightfall."

"Yeah, sure Kenny."

"That's the spirit, darlin'. I'll wait for ya out back."

"Sarah and I'll watch him," Jane offered.

As Clementine zipped her now-dry jacket back up, Sarah spoke up.

"Clem? Be careful."

Clem didn't say anything, only turned around and walked out with Kenny.

"Dammit," Jane sighed, massaging her temple. "I can't believe this shit."

"The world is bad," Sarah pointed out. "Like, _really_ bad. I know that people hurt each other sometimes before...the _zombies_ happened, but it's just so horrible now. And it's not like those movies, either. There's no happy ending out of all this." She fumbled with her coat zipper.

Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. "It sucks how right you are."

Sarah decided that now was the time. "Umm...thank you for saving me...back at the observation deck. You didn't have to."

"It's fine...you don't have to thank me," Jane responded, looking away with an unhappy expression.

"Here, let me see," Mike coaxed Arvo.

Sarah watched as Mike poured a little peroxide onto a rag and pressed it onto Arvo's face. The teenager began yelling out in Russian.

_"Ебать, что болит, как ад!"_ Arvo yelled out. ("Fuck, that hurts like hell!")

"I'm sorry, but it'll help," Mike assured him. "You'll thank me later."

"Can you guys quiet the fuck down over there?" Jane whispered loudly.

"Yeah, okay," Mike agreed. "Sorry."

Sarah stood up and loomed over a sleeping AJ in admiration. "He's really cute. He looks like one of my old dolls," she whispered, smiling in Jane's direction. But it faded when she thought of all the negative possibilities. "I hope nothing bad happens to him."

Arvo and Mike began talking again, causing Jane to roll her eyes. "I'm gonna take it into another room, so they don't wake him up. You can come too, if you want."

Sarah didn't know why Jane had referred to AJ as an "it" when he was clearly a boy, but nodded and followed the older woman as she carried AJ in his little box over to another bench.

Jane saw Bonnie's backpack in a corner and went to grab it while Sarah looked after AJ. She got out the bottle of rum (which there was still a little left). Much to Sarah's surprise, Jane offered the bottle out to her after taking a sip.

"You still up for finding out what it tastes like?" Jane asked.

With a slow nod, Sarah took the bottle and brought it up to her lips. Her father was no longer here (unfortunately), and in the apocalypse, age no longer mattered, despite Bonnie's words.

Sarah coughed loudly and made a disgusted face, it tasted pretty bad. "Why do grown-ups like it so much?" she inquired. "It doesn't taste good, so why do they drink it?"

Jane sighed and took the bottle back. "Well, kid, let's just say that alcohol can reduce..._stress."_ She took another large drink and put it away.

Any other time, Sarah would have replied with, "My dad said that alcohol is bad for you," but somehow, she understood what Jane meant. She really understood how bad the world was now.

At that moment, Clementine came back.

"Hey," Jane greeted the eleven-year-old. "Mike and Arvo wouldn't shut up, so we moved him in here."

Clementine sat to the right of Sarah. Both girls looked out, and saw that Kenny was still having trouble with the truck outside.

"Goddamn it!" Kenny screamed.

"I've seen that one before," Jane commented.

"Son of a _bitch!"_

"He says swear words a lot," Sarah pointed out.

"He'll be fine," Clementine told Jane.

"Clem, he beat that boy within an inch of his life. We are way past fine. I know Kenny's a nice guy, Clem. I bet Carver was a nice guy, too. Once. Probably had a nice job, and a nice, pretty wife. Then all this happened. And one day, he caved some kid's face in and realized he could sleep at night."

"He was really nice to us at first," Sarah explained. "But then we saw him yelling at people, and beating them up...sometimes it was for no reason." She squeezed her eyes shut at the terrible memories.

AJ let out a soft cry, but didn't completely wake up.

"Kenny isn't Carver, he just...made a mistake," Clementine disagreed with Jane.

"All I'm saying is, start thinking about what happens if you're wrong," Jane replied. "You two have known each other a long time. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to decide how much that's worth."

Before Clem could reply, AJ woke up fully and started crying.

"He might be hungry," Sarah pointed out, although she still didn't know much about babies. "Do we have any more baby formula?"

Clementine didn't answer, but promptly got up and picked up Alvin Junior, who immediately stopped crying.

"Seems like you've done that before," Jane commented.

Sarah smiled. "I think he likes you the best, Clem."

"Want to try?" Clem offered the baby to Jane.

"No way, it's gonna puke!" Jane declined.

But Clementine handed him towards her anyways, causing Sarah to giggle, laughing for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Clem, no!"

"Hold him like this," Clementine instructed, holding her hands out in the correct position.

"Heyyy, hi, my name's Jane," Jane talked to AJ awkwardly. She looked up at Clementine. "I think it's gonna puke."

"It's not gonna puke," Clementine shrugged.

"He might like y-" Sarah began.

But both of the girls were wrong, as the baby promptly puked all over Jane's yellow jacket.

"It puked, it puked!" Jane cried, as Clem took the baby back. "Gross!"

Clementine turned to Sarah, and smiled lightly. "Do you wanna hold him too?"

"What if he cries again?" Sarah whispered nervously, as AJ was now sleeping again.

"He won't, and if he does, just rock him gently."

Clem handed AJ to Sarah, who actually held him in the correct position. Sarah looked in awe at how tiny and fragile AJ looked to be. Luckily, though, he didn't wake up and cry.

"I was running with some people a long time ago, down near DC," Jane began telling a story. "Some guy got trapped in the middle of a crosswalk. Can't remember his name. He used to call me Mary Jane. He was a douchebag. Anyway, the dick got stuck under a car hiding from a dozen walkers. One after another, they went down there trying to save him...lost four people before we got him out."

Sarah and Clementine both looked surprised.

"He was still alive, right?" Sarah asked. "Did he make it?"

But Jane shook her head. "Didn't find out till later he was already bit. Turned and ripped the neck right outta this old lady. The look on her face was...she was just staring up at the sky. Like she was watching a bird. Look, you guys..."

But she was cut off when they heard the engine of a truck outside.

"He got it working!" Clementine exclaimed, running outside. Sarah gently lay AJ back in his little crib (which was basically a drawer with a blanket), and she and Jane followed her.

"How much food do we have?" Jane asked.

"At least a week," Mike answered.

"We need to find a place for the baby," Clementine announced.

"Yeah, someplace warm."

"I agree, we should head back south," Jane added.

"What?" Kenny asked.

"We're gonna freeze to death! I don't know whose stupid idea it was to march up here in the first place, but it was a bad one."

"She's right," Mike agreed.

"What if we went back to Howe's?" Jane suggested.

"Wait, what?"

"Why?" Sarah questioned.

"Fuck that, I was thinkin' more like Texas!"

"Texas? The fuck?" Kenny turned to him.

"It was just an idea."

"We already talked about this!"

"We did?"

"We're goin' to find Wellington. Right, Clem?"

"We don't have to leave right now," Clementine replied. "Let's just sleep on it."

"Well, that sounds sensible," Bonnie agreed.

"Says you," Jane scoffed.

Sarah decided not to listen to anymore arguing (partly because she didn't want to get involved), and went back inside to watch AJ. The baby was still asleep, much to her relief. She glanced at Arvo, who was looking in the other direction.

Bonnie, Mike, and Jane walked back inside, but Clementine wasn't with them.

"Clem went to talk to Kenny," Mike told Sarah. "She'll be back soon."

Sarah nodded. She wrapped her arms around her knees and began to process her thoughts once again.

Everyone in her cabin group was now dead, except for her. She felt like she was going to come to a big decision soon, going to Wellington (which might not have even existed), or heading back to Howe's (where there was a ton of horrible memories, the worst being Carlos being killed right in front of her).

She looked around the corner and saw Bonnie and Mike whispering to Arvo, with suspicious looks on their faces. But she didn't pay attention to what they were saying, nor could she hear. Jane was lying on the floor in front of a window, probably about to go to sleep.

_Why did they all have to die?_ Sarah thought. _Rebecca, Luke, Daddy-_

"Hey, Sarah."

Sarah jumped slightly and looked up to see Clementine standing in front of her. "...Hey."

Clem sat on the other side of AJ and looked at her in slight concern. "Are you...okay?"

"Clem..." Sarah whispered, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I...I don't know if I want to go back to the cabin anymore. Everyone I was with...they're all gone now."

"I know..." Clementine trailed off.

"Dad isn't coming back," Sarah began to rock slightly. "He really is gone, I know it now. I wish...I could be tough."

"But you saved Kenny from that walker today," Clementine pointed out with a smile. "And...you tried to cover Luke." The smile faded for just a moment, but then it reappeared. "That _does_ make you tough. If you weren't, you wouldn't have done either of those things today. I think you can make it."

Those words made Sarah feel better. "Thanks, Clem."

Clementine got up quietly and walked over, wrapping her arms around Sarah.

"Wh-Why-" Sarah started.

"I'm giving you that hug I said I owed you," Clementine was almost grinning now. "I told you that it would come when you least expected it, didn't I?"

Sarah smiled sheepishly. "I don't think I was listening..."

She got up and hugged Clementine back gratefully. "...I needed it though."

The two girls let go. Clementine rubbed her eyes then.

"I think I'm gonna go to sleep now," she said. "Goodnight, Sarah."

"I will too," Sarah answered, feeling a bit tired herself. "Goodnight, Clementine."

She walked out of the little room and decided to sleep by the fireplace to keep warm, and felt safe enough to take off her glasses. She curled up into a little ball and closed her eyes.

But Sarah wasn't asleep for too long, maybe an hour and a half at the most. Voices woke her up, so she decided to go see what was happening.

What she saw shocked her. Clementine was outside, pointing a gun at Mike. Arvo was standing by the truck nervously. Sarah jumped when she heard a door shut, and Bonnie went out carrying..._supplies?_

That was when the gravity of the situation hit Sarah. Bonnie, Mike, and Arvo were trying to _steal_ from them, and leave them with nothing!

Sarah gasped and looked around, searching fervently for Kenny. She tracked his loud snores, and found him sleeping near Alvin Junior protectively.

As much as she didn't want to do it, she had to wake Kenny up and warn him. She slowly approached him and knelt down, shaking his shoulder.

"K-Kenny!"

Kenny stopped snoring and stirred. "Whaaaat?" he groaned. He opened his good eye and looked at Sarah. "What do you want?"

Sarah began shaking, and her breaths came out in short gasps. She had to be quick.

"M-Mike...Bonnie...are trying to-"

"Spit it out, girl, I can't understand ya-" Kenny grumbled.

But Sarah didn't have to say anything, because a loud gunshot was heard, cutting Kenny off. Kenny quickly scrambled up and ran outside, Sarah right on his tail.

The fifteen-year-old stopped dead in her tracks. Clementine was lying in the snow, bloody and barely conscious.

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**And there's Chapter 22! The part with Sarah and alcohol was for Omid (FanFiction user). XD I decided to have Sarah and Clem interact a bit, since they haven't done much of that lately. Well, please leave a review! :D**


	23. On The Road Again

**I got a surprising amount of reviews for the last chapter, which I appreciate. XD **

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"Oh my God, Clem!" Kenny cried. He turned and began roaring at Bonnie, Mike, and Arvo, who all began running away in the other direction, never to be seen again. "What the FUCK did you do?! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Clem!" Sarah shrieked, dropping to her knees. "Clem-Clementine!"

The door burst open again, and out ran Jane. "What the fuck happened?"

"That Russian _fucker_ shot Clementine!" Kenny hollered, bending down and gathering Clem in his arms.

Sarah had never seen anyone, not even her father, so furious over anything in her life. She quickly got up and followed Kenny and Jane back into the house.

Clementine was placed onto the bench by the fire, Jane looming over her and inspecting her with an almost fearful look on her face. She turned the unconscious eleven-year-old over, and saw that there was a wound on her back as well. The bullet had gone clean through.

Sarah grabbed the blanket used to warm Clementine up earlier and looked from it to Kenny.

"I can put pressure on her wound, it'll help stop the bleeding!" Sarah exclaimed. "My dad showed me how."

It was true that Carlos had been able to show Sarah some techniques before his death, but he hadn't gotten to show her a whole lot. Just enough to put pressure on a wound, and some other small things.

Kenny turned to the fifteen-year-old and nodded. "Good, okay," he spoke to her in a gentler tone. "Thank you, Sarah. But you need to hurry!"

Jane lifted Clementine's upper body again so Sarah could place half of the blanket there, and she placed the other half on the front wound, and put pressure on it.

The blood turned most of the white blanket a crimson red, but neither Sarah or Jane cared.

Sarah got to her knees and placed the blanket over Clementine's gunshot wound, putting pressure onto it. The blood turned part of the white blanket a crimson red, but she didn't care.

_Come on, Clem, you need to wake up!_ Sarah begged silently. _Please! I can't lose you too! You're my best friend!_

From all the commotion, AJ woke up and began to howl and cry. Kenny swore and began to tend to him, rocking him and shushing him.

Clementine began to shiver, but other than that, showed no signs of waking up.

Jane noticed this and pulled the nail file out of the child's pocket, trying to get the fire started. But this time, it wouldn't work. It was possible that the wood was all burned out.

"Kenny, she's cold," Jane called.

"Well, get a fired started!" Kenny demanded.

"Wood won't burn!"

"Goddamn it!" Kenny walked over and handed AJ to Sarah. He bent down and gathered Clementine in his arms again. "Go start the truck, we can keep it goin' to keep her warm. Sarah, you watch AJ."

Alvin Junior was still crying, and Sarah was still a nervous wreck. She decided to do what Clementine would do.

"Shh, it's okay, don't cry, Alvie," Sarah whispered.

Luckily, this technique worked, as AJ quieted down immediately and closed his eyes, falling back into sleep. Sarah slowly stood up and walked to the other room, watching through the window as Kenny walked all around angrily. She listened intently as he and Jane began to quarrel.

"Fuckin' Commie shitbird!" Kenny bellowed, kicking the truck. Sarah began rocking AJ again slightly just in case he woke up.

"Would you calm down already?" Jane demanded of him.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted that stupid _fucking_ kid!" Kenny yelled, ignoring her. "Clementine could fucking _die_ because of that asshole!"

"Sarah took care of her, she will be_ fine."_

"Just because her _daddy_ was a fuckin' doctor don't mean she is, Jane!" Kenny screamed. He began to walk around again. "Shit, shit, SHIT!"

Sarah felt like she had been slapped yet again. She had done the best that she could (even stopping the bleeding), and it hurt that Kenny had brought Carlos into their argument. She put AJ in his drawer-crib and sat on the floor near him, trying to block negative thoughts from her mind.

She must have fallen asleep, because next thing she knew, someone was shaking her shoulder.

"Come on, we're leaving."

Jane was looking down at her, holding a babbling AJ in her arms. Sarah stood up and stretched, adjusting her glasses.

"What...time is it?" Sarah inquired. "I-Is Clementine awake yet?"

"Not yet," Jane replied, a look of remorse crossing her features. "And about the time, I don't know, early in the morning? Come on."

She walked out of the house, and Sarah followed. It was still somewhat dark out, but the early hints of morning were shown all over the sky. A light snow blanketed the ground, and there was some flakes falling. Sarah missed the days where she could play in the snow, but now that was nonexistent.

Clementine was sprawled out in the backseat, still unconscious. Sarah carefully opened the back door and lifted her upper body, carefully placing the younger girl's head on her lap. She smiled in relief when she checked Clem's pulse.

"Where are we going?" Sarah asked.

"Same place we've been discussin', Wellington," said Kenny. "Don't be surprised if Jane makes one of those little comments of hers."

"Is...is it safe there?"

"Should be, from what I've heard," Kenny sighed. "We'll know when we get there."

"Oh. Okay."

Jane climbed into the passenger seat, still holding AJ, and Kenny got the truck started, and off they drove. The rumbling of the truck relaxed Sarah, so she put her arm on the door, and her head on her arm, and fell back to sleep.

She woke up again when she felt a huge bump and heard the sound of a baby crying, and looked around. It was daylight now, probably around mid-morning. How long had they been driving?

"What are you doing?" Jane demanded almost frantically, as AJ cried softly. "On the left!"

Kenny swerved the truck in Jane's instructed direction. He was probably driving a little faster than he should have been.

"Slow down!"

"Shut up!" Kenny snapped at her.

Sarah felt movement on her lap and saw that Clementine was beginning to stir.

"Clem!" Sarah cried.

Jane turned around at the sound of her voice. "She's awake!"

Clem lifted her head off of Sarah's lap and sat up, making a pained expression as she placed a hand on her wound.

"Hey, you," Jane greeted in relief.

"Clem! Oh, thank God!" Kenny added.

"Am I gonna be okay?" Clementine inquired.

"I think so," Sarah replied. She inspected Clem's wound. "How does it feel?"

"It hurts," Clementine responded in a pain-filled voice.

"Couldn't find the bullet, must have gone clean through," Jane told her. "It'll burn for awhile, but you'll be fine."

"I took care of you," Sarah smiled lightly. "I stopped the bleeding."

"Those sons of bitches," Kenny swore. "I mean, I expected it from the Russian, but Mike? I could tell they were workin' on something."

"They didn't go that far," Jane pointed out.

"Yeah, well, who would steal out food and shoot a kid? We never should've thrown in with trash like that in the first place."

"Why would they do that, though?" Sarah piped up. "We never did anything bad to them. Why would they leave us like that?"

"Is Bonnie okay?" Clementine asked before anyone could answer Sarah's question.

"They ran away," Sarah confirmed.

"Didn't get this puppy, thanks to you," Kenny told Clementine.

"Now that Clem's awake, we should talk about where we're going," Jane announced.

"We're headin' north."

"What, to find _'Wellington?'"_

"You sure talk a lotta shit, but you got a better plan?" Kenny scoffed.

"We head south, back to Howe's."

_"Carver's_ camp? The hell kind of plan is that?"

"Please, stop arguing!" Sarah interrupted.

"Look, even if there is someplace up here, it could take us weeks to find it," Jane explained. "We could get back to Howe's in a day."

_I don't want to go back there,_ Sarah thought, looking at her lap._ What if-_

"Tell you what, we can turn around just as soon as you pry this wheel from my cold, dead fingers!" Kenny retorted. "How's that sound?"

"Whatever, I give up," said Jane. She leaned back and placed her foot on the dashboard.

"Get your feet off the dash," Kenny pushed her foot off.

"Let's play a game, you guys," Jane turned around to face Clementine and Sarah.

"A game?" Sarah inquired.

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" Jane replied almost gleefully. "I spy with my little eye...an asshole!" She turned and smirked at Kenny. "Your turn."

"Grow up," Kenny scoffed.

"Go to hell."

"I'll pull this fuckin' car over."

"Go ahead."

"You're both being children!" Clementine spoke up.

"ME? I'm having trouble seeing the damn road!" Kenny yelled.

"Bet you're having trouble seeing a lot of things these days," Jane taunted.

"You shut your fuckin' mouth! I am _done_ playin' games with you, Jane."

"Fuck you. You don't know a damn thing about me!"

"Ohhh, I know exactly what you are. Nothin'! Nobody cares about you, and you don't care about nobody but yourself. That makes you nothin'!"

"Just STOP!" Sarah yelled, placing her hands over her ears. "Please!"

"I'll _stop_ once this _bitch _quits runnin' her damn mouth!" Kenny glanced back.

"What is it with you?" Jane asked. "It's your family, right?"

_"Don't."_

"It is, isn't it?

"I'm warning you, you little shit!"

"You're just another Type-A asshole tryin' to save a bunch of dead people!"

"Watch the road!" Clementine cried.

"I am, goddamn it!" Kenny shouted. "You listen to me. You mouth off about my family and I will fuckin' end you."

"Jesus Christ, I am so sick of this wounded warrior crap!" Jane declared. "Just pull over, I can't take this!"

"What? Runnin' away again? What a fuckin' shocker! In the end, still only care about yourself, right?"

"I don't like this, Clem," Sarah whispered, squeezing her younger friend's hand.

"And where were you when Sarita died, Kenny? Huh, where were you?" Jane questioned.

Kenny had a shocked expression on his face, and then glared at Jane again.

"I was there! I couldn't...goddamn you, I loved that woman!"

"Who could love you?" Jane argued. "Look at you! You can't raise this kid, it's scared to death of you! Hell, I bet _Sarah_ is scared of you!"

Sarah placed her hands over her ears. She was now sort of glad that she never got to be involved in a lot of things.

"Jane, Kenny loved Sarita!" Clementine backed Kenny up.

"Of course he did! He loves having anyone around that does what he says. That's why he loves this kid so much - it can't talk back yet."

"Fuck you!" Kenny hissed.

"You know the thing about people like you, Kenny? You're just a bomb waitin' to go off! Everyone talks about you behind your back because they're afraid of you!"

"Mike. Bonnie. Sarita."

"You fuckin' liar, that ain't true!"

"Everyone around you knows that sooner or later, they're gonna end up dead! Sarita knew it, I knew it, and so does Clementine!"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

"GO TO HELL, YOU SON OF A-"

"WATCH OUT!" Sarah screamed over all the arguing.

"Jesus!" Kenny exclaimed, swerving the truck around and slamming the brakes. They appeared to be in front of a bunch of cars.

"You okay?" Kenny asked.

"I'm fine," Jane replied.

"How's AJ?"

"He's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Clem, Sarah, you all right?"

"Yeah," said Clementine.

"I'm okay," Sarah added.

Jane turned to Kenny, looking apologetic. "Kenny, I'm-"

"Hold on," Kenny interrupted.

"Go around."

"One of them might have diesel."

AJ began crying again, and Kenny opened the door to the car. "When I holler it's okay, drive up closer. Anything happens, I'll try to meet you there. All right?"

"If you're going, go now," said Jane.

"Kenny..." Clementine began, but Kenny had already closed the door, cutting her off.

"What are we gonna-" Sarah spoke up, but Clementine interrupted her by climbing into the driver's seat.

"That fucking asshole," Jane moaned. "GOD. I can't do this anymore. I'm serious, Clem."

"Stop making him mad," Clementine replied.

"Everything is making him mad."

"Well, all you're doing is just making it worse."

"...You're just like him." A pause. "We could leave. Right now."

"But why?" Sarah asked. "What about AJ? And Kenny?"

"Kenny would never let him go," Jane responded. She turned to the child in the driver's seat. "This is our chance, Clem. Don't you ever want to know what it's like to live your own life?"

Right after she said that, however, a gunshot was heard. Then two more.

A few walkers emerged out of nowhere, which caused Sarah to feel an anxiety attack coming on. Walkers weren't supposed to walk in snow! It was too cold!

"It's snowing!" Clementine exclaimed. "Why are they moving?"

"They must not be cold enough yet," Jane told her. "FUCK." She turned the key ignition. "Get out out of here!"

"I don't know how to drive!" Clem cried.

"See that pedal on the floor? STEP ON IT! Don't just sit there!"

Sarah was almost knocked to the floor with the force of the now-moving truck. She let out a loud scream as a walker crashed through the windshield. The car began to swerve every which way, until it came to a complete stop.

She jiggled with the doorknob for a moment before finally getting it open.

"C-Clem!" Sarah yelled, standing next to Jane as the latter held a firm grip on AJ. "Get out!"

"The door is stuck!"

Clementine got out her gun and shot the walker in the skull, sending it down.

"Oh shit. Shit! There are more of them!" Jane screamed. "Move!"

"Hurry, Clementine!" Sarah prodded.

Clementine stepped out of the truck, miraculously without getting bit.

"Jane, wait!" Clem called, but the older woman had already disappeared in the blizzard that was going on. She was pulled down, a walker grabbing her ankle.

Sarah took out her gun, ready to kill it, but Clem beat her to it, and got up.

"Jane!"

"C-Clem?" Sarah rubbed her arms. "It's really cold! I...I...wh-what do we do now?"

"C-Come on," Clementine answered. She was just as cold, which would slow both of the girls down.

The winter cold was quite bitter, freezing wind blowing in Sarah and Clementine's faces. The girls stayed close together, hoping not to get separated.

During the walk, Clementine fell over, and Sarah was afraid.

"Clem! Are-Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Clem responded as Sarah helped her up.

The girls trekked on, shivering in both the winter cold and the possibility that Kenny, AJ, and Jane were not all right. Sarah thought she saw something and squinted.

"Clem, there...there's a playground, and a little building! Maybe it'll be warm in there."

The eleven-year-old sighed in relief. "Let's go in."

**\\\\**

**And we'll end it there. There will be three chapters left to the story, including an in-between chapter. See you tomorrow!**


	24. A Battle Unneeded

**Thanks for the feedback! And to those who gave me ideas, they'll be used in the next chapter and are greatly appreciated!**

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The girls entered the rest stop building. Much to their relief, it was much warmer than it was outside.

"Jane?" Clementine called.

The person at the window turned around, revealing that it was Kenny.

"Kenny!" Clem cried.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked timidly.

"I'm fine," Kenny replied, walking up to the girls. "You two all right? Where's the kid?"

"He's with her," said Clementine.

"You left him with _her?"_ Kenny looked angry. "Jane!" He opened the door and ran outside, the cold blasting in, and yelled out her name again.

Sarah turned around, noticing a silhouette approaching. It was Jane...but where was AJ?

"There she is!" Sarah nearly shouted, pointing.

Kenny heard her and turned around as well. "Oh, thank Christ!" He ran over and opened the other door. "Jane, you okay? Where's the kid?"

Jane hung her head low, and Kenny asked her again. "Where is he?"

The look on Jane's face said it all. She turned to Clementine and Sarah with a saddened expression. Sarah looked shocked, she seemed to know what was going on, what she was trying to tell them.

"No...no, please!" Sarah begged, her voice cracking. She began to sob quietly. "Not AJ!"

"Oh, my God..." Clementine whispered.

"He's..." was all Jane could spill out.

"What are you sayin'?" Kenny asked in a low voice. He began to back away. "No...NO!" He had that angry look on his face again, and ran out of the building.

"No, not again...not again," Clementine closed her eyes, looking ready to cry herself.

What did she mean by that?

"Look..." Jane trailed off. She got down on one knee and placed her hands on Clementine's shoulders, but she was looking at both of the girls. "No matter what happens, just stay out of it. Okay?" She turned around, and then locked eyes with Sarah, who was wiping tears away. "Just trust me, both of you."

"How could you let this happen?" Clementine demanded.

"He was just a little baby!" Sarah wept.

Jane glanced behind her again, and then spoke to Clementine. "Just trust me," she said again. "You're gonna see what he really is."

The three females looked up, and saw Kenny's silhouette stomping over. Now he was furious.

Both Jane and Sarah backed away, the latter genuinely afraid of what was about to happen.

"Kenny...calm down," Clementine put her hands up. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Get outta my way," Kenny replied, dangerously, pushing her out of his path.

"Kenny?"

Sarah ran and stood next to Clementine, trying not to go into a panic attack.

"How could you kill a FUCKING CHILD?" Kenny hollered, trying to punch Jane, but she blocked him.

"I didn't kill him! It was an _accident,_ Kenny!"

"BULLSHIT!"

"I won't back down from you, Kenny."

"Shut up!"

"Please! We're all that's left!" Sarah pleaded, her whole body trembling.

"Clem, Sarah, stay back," Jane warned the girls. Everyone in that building knew that things were really about to get ugly. "Don't you come near me, you son of a bitch!"

But Kenny ignored her words and charged right into her, causing the glass to crack. Sarah screamed.

"Kenny!" Sarah and Clementine shouted in unison.

Kenny's hat and eye bandage came off as he tried to strangle Jane. By now, Sarah was backed up to the wall, but Clementine was still trying to break them apart.

"STOP! PLEASE!" Clem begged.

She ran over and pulled on Kenny's arm, causing the older man to become distracted, and Jane pounced on top of him and began punching him in the face repeatedly. Kenny placed his hands to his face, trying to block her blows.

"Stop! Jane!" Clementine exclaimed.

"Stop hitting him!" Sarah yelled. "Please stop!"

"Asshole!" Jane snarled at Kenny, ignoring the girl.

"YOU'RE FUCKIN' DEAD!" Kenny screeched.

But Jane retaliated by slashing a knife into his stomach, causing him to get up with a yell.

"This is all your fuckin' fault!" Jane bellowed, running after him. The two ended up outside. Sarah ran from the wall and peeked from the glass. Clementine was in the doorway, looking fearful.

"Piece'a shit!" Kenny hissed, backing away.

"Just go!" Jane replied.

"I ain't goin' nowhere!"

Clementine immediately ran and got between them, which didn't help much. Sarah ran up and grabbed Jane's arm, but she was pushed off and knocked to the ground.

"Please stop! You're killing each other!" Sarah shrieked, the tears still flowing.

Jane slashed her knife into the air, with Kenny ducking just in time. The two fell over, causing a sign to break off. Kenny said something that Sarah couldn't catch. Jane got on top of Kenny and began attempting to literally gouge his eyes out.

"How's that's fuckin' feel, huh?" Jane demanded as Kenny kicked and screamed.

"Please! He's had enough!" Clementine shouted. "LISTEN TO ME!"

"Get her off!" Kenny roared.

Both Sarah and Clementine pulled Jane off, causing Kenny to grab the woman's knife and slash her in the leg. Clementine fell over, her wound having reopened.

Sarah shrieked and loomed over her friend. "C-Clementine! Get up...get up!"

Kenny tackled Jane, attempting to kill her with her own knife. "I'll...fuckin' kill you!"

Clementine sat up and looked at her gun in front of her. Sarah gasped and backed away. Somebody...someone...was going to die today. They would be dead within the next few minutes. And she didn't want to see it.

So she ran away.

She couldn't take any more death. She didn't want to see anymore of it. Sarah ran, the path somehow being much clearer now, and sat by the now half-destroyed truck nearby.

_I can't...I can't do it,_ Sarah thought, hugging her knees to her chest as she continued to watch from a distance. _I..._

But something pulled her out of her thoughts. It was the sound of...a baby crying? Sarah looked around, thinking that it was only her imagination. She quickly hauled herself to her feet and looked into the truck, gasping in shock.

AJ was lying in the back seat, crying. He was alive!

Without a second thought, Sarah immediately opened the door and gathered the small baby in her arms, bursting into fresh tears of relief.

"AJ! Oh my gosh...you're alive!" Sarah whispered, cradling the little boy. He immediately quieted down.

She whipped around, she had to get back to the playground. Let Kenny and Clementine know that AJ was alive, that he was safe, and end the fight once and for all.

She ran a little ways, clutching AJ to her chest protectively. Kenny's silhouette thrust down, yelling out in anger. He crawled a little ways to the back, and Clementine slowly approached him.

Sarah let out some shaky breaths, afraid of what may have happened. "CLEMENTINE!"

AJ began to cry again. Sarah felt a little bad for causing it, but she had to alert Clementine and Kenny.

Clementine ran over, slipping and falling once in the process, but she got up and ran to Sarah, her expression shocked that AJ was okay.

"Oh my God! AJ!" Clementine cried. She took him from Sarah, sobbing lightly and hugging him. "Oh my God...are you okay?" She looked up at Sarah with a grateful expression. "Where was he?"

"I...*sniff*...I found him in the truck," Sarah explained, her sobs decreasing.

She heard footsteps approaching. Kenny was right on Clem's tail.

"He's alive," Clementine told him, still surprised.

"AJ! Let me see him!" Kenny cried, taking AJ from Clementine's arms.

Kenny looked at AJ in shock for a moment, as if he didn't think this was real, as if he would wake up or AJ would fall dead limp or something of the like, and then hugged him in a similar fashion.

"I thought...I thought we lost you, buddy," Kenny whispered.

"I...I can't believe he's alive!" Clem exclaimed.

"I thought he was gone..." Sarah added.

"It's a miracle!" Kenny said happily. "I thought he was gone for good...I thought she'd taken him from us!"

Sarah glanced all around, but Jane wasn't in sight. "Where's Jane?"

Kenny was silent for a moment, and then glared at nothing in particular. "I killed her. She's dead."

Sarah looked shocked. Sure, Kenny had overreacted, but he probably went a little too far. "Wh...Why...?"

"Why...why would she...?" Clementine trailed off.

"She was nuts, girls," Kenny explained. "A disturbed person that had her own agenda, and was only lookin' out for herself." When AJ began crying again, Kenny comforted him. "Shh, shh, shh, it's all right, buddy."

Clementine took Alvin Junior back from him, and she and Sarah looked up with an uncertain expression.

"Hey, listen, I didn't want that to happen, either. I thought she killed Alvie, Clem. And at any point, she could have stopped what was happenin' by saying he was fine! She _wanted_ a fight!"

Sarah looked down remorsefully. In a way, she blamed herself for not acting sooner. "I...I should have..."

"Hey. What's done is done," Kenny told her gently. Then he turned back to Clementine. "I'd never, ever hurt you. You understand? I was protecting you. You believe me, right? Just imaginin' what she did to Alvie..."

Right now, Sarah felt a little out of place. She knew that Kenny cared for Clementine and AJ more than her, and she didn't want to interfere. She looked away awkwardly.

"I...I believe you," Clementine replied.

"Okay," Kenny sighed in relief. "Thanks."

Sarah watched as Kenny bent down and looked at Clem for a moment, before giving her a hug. She was _very_ surprised when he gestured her over too (without looking at her). The fifteen-year-old walked over slowly, and Kenny had one arm around her, and the other around Clementine.

Kenny let go of the girls, and stood up. "Now come on. Let's put some miles between us and this place."

He and Clementine began walking away (AJ still in Clem's arms). Sarah paused and took one look back. She could see someone walking around slowly, and realized that Jane had reanimated.

She quickly ran to catch up with the three, not looking back anymore.

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**I spared Kenny! XD A couple of you were asking for it anyway. So yeah, I didn't like Jane, I thought she was a selfish bitch and I was more than happy to get rid of her. A lot of the things she did were wrong and inexcusable. :P I had Kenny let Sarah join the hug so that she wouldn't feel left out. :3 Okay, well, there will an extra chapter before we reach Wellington! And as always, please leave a review, those make my day! :)**


	25. All Those Memories

**As usual, thank you for the reviews and feedback! The next chapter will be the last. Shoutout to The Liability and Owen96 for the suggestions for this chapter, and thanks to Assassin's Creed Master for the help!**

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"Eek!" Sarah squealed as she lit up a match for the first time.

"There, you got it!" Clementine praised with a smile, rocking AJ gently.

It was nighttime, exactly four days after the incident with Kenny and Jane. Clementine was in the process of teaching Sarah how to build and light a fire. They were sitting outside of their shelter for the night. The older girl was a bit apprehensive, somewhat afraid that she or someone else would get burned, but Clementine told her that it was important to not be afraid of fire.

Sarah slowly lowered the match to the burning wood, and successfully had the two items touch without getting burned.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, smiling back at Clem. She rubbed her hands together and warmed them by the fire, and then decided to ask something that was on her mind for a little while now.

"Clem?"

"Yeah, Sarah?"

"What happened to Sarita?" Sarah genuinely wanted to know, looking around to make sure that the coast was clear. "I haven't seen her since we were at Carver's place. And that was like, forever ago now. Where is she?"

Clementine had a saddened expression on her face, looking away briefly. But she knew that it was time to stop hiding things from Sarah.

"I..." Clem paused, looking down at AJ. "She got bit in the herd, after your...well, you know. I cut off her arm to try and save her. She screamed, and walkers got to her before I could do anything. She was gone..."

Sarah looked shocked, then upset. "That's awful, I really liked her." She couldn't help but feel to blame. "...Should I apologize to Kenny?"

Clementine looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Should I apologize? I think it was because I screamed...when Dad was..." Sarah couldn't say anymore.

"Sarita's death wasn't your fault, Sarah," Clementine reassured her. "You don't have anything to apologize for. It was mine...I should have never cut off her arm."

"But you didn't know-"

"How's the fire comin' along, girls?" Kenny interrupted as he came back from filling a few water canteens from a nearby river. He didn't seem to have heard any part of the conversation. He handed one canteen each to Clementine and Sarah and then turned to the younger of the two. "I'll take AJ now, Clem."

Sarah took a long drink of the cold, refreshing water, smiling at the satisfaction it gave her body.

"I would make that last," Kenny advised both girls. He took a seat on the log adjacent to the one the girls were sitting on, now holding AJ. "We may not find water again for awhile. Hopefully Wellington will have more than plenty."

"How much farther do you think we'll walk?" Clementine inquired.

"Hell if I know," Kenny grumbled. "But I know we'll be gettin' close soon. We should start seein' signs in a couple days."

"I hope the people there aren't mean, like Carver was," Sarah picked up a stick and began poking the snow.

"I'm positive that things will be fine, okay?" Kenny replied, nodding at her.

"Okay."

"Why don't you girls go inside and go to sleep? I'll take first watch with Alvie here."

Sarah and Clementine bade Kenny goodnight and entered the small wooden hut, which was their shelter for the night. Luckily, it had been clear of walkers, and held the four canteens (one for each of them, including the baby).

But neither girl seemed to be able to fall asleep. Sarah knew that Clem was awake when she heard movement from the younger girl. Maybe they could have another one of those "sleepover chats," like when they left the cabin. She turned over to face her friend.

"Clem?" Sarah whispered.

Clementine turned her head.

"What..." Sarah paused. "What did your mom and dad do? Like work and stuff? Where did you live before all this?" She had been told that Clementine's parents had passed away very early on in the apocalypse, but that was all. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"We lived in Georgia," said Clementine. "Right near Atlanta. My mom was a doctor, like your dad. And my dad was an engineer."

Sarah brightened when she realized that they both had a parent who'd been a doctor.

"My mom was a high school teacher," she explained. "But I don't remember what she taught. I think it was science, but I don't remember now." Her eyes welled up when she thought of her mother. "She died the day it happened. Dad and I were leaving to find her, but we found her outside of her work with a huge bite mark on her neck. She was already..." She couldn't say anymore.

She placed a hand to her chest, her heart aching for her dead parents. She sat up. "S-Sorry, I..."

Clementine sat up too, sitting Indian style and looking at the older girl in concern. Sarah didn't want to seem weak to Clem anymore, and tried to get herself together. She decided to share some happy memories.

"My mom used to sing to me whenever I felt sad, or scared," she continued. "She would sing this one song that always made me feel better. Her voice was real sweet and gentle. I don't remember the name of the song, though..."

Clementine gave Sarah a small smile, and she smiled back.

"My dad would let me stay up late sometimes, so we could look at the stars," Clem added. "Lee and I did that too, once. They both told me about the con..." She closed her eyes briefly. _"...constellations."_

"Like Polaris?"

"Yeah."

Sarah stopped for a moment. "We lived in North Carolina, by the mountains. Not near the cabin, but in the same state. Our house was this really pretty blue. What color was your house?"

"...Yellow." It was as if Clementine had trouble remembering.

Sarah leaned back against the wall and stared at her lap. "I still miss my dad. And my mom. That's okay, right?" When Clementine gave her an "off" look, she continued. "I mean, people are trying so hard to stay alive that it's like we're not allowed to think about people who died. And I still think about my parents."

"Of course it's okay to miss them, Sarah. I still miss my parents, too...and Lee."

"Okay. I was just wondering."

"Are you two still awake in there?" Kenny called from outside.

Clementine and Sarah gave each other a knowing smile as if they were rebelling.

"Sorry, Kenny," Clem answered, both girls lying back down.

Sarah lay on her side, facing the wall. She tried to fall asleep, as she usually did so within seconds, but something was keeping her awake. It wasn't AJ, he was sleeping outside in Kenny's arms right now. She was thinking about the first day this all started.

_Flashback_

_"Your turn, Dad!" a nearly thirteen-year-old Sarah exclaimed cheerfully. She and Carlos were playing Sarah's favorite board game at home while waiting for her mother, Astrid, to return home from work. She was caught up in a meeting, but that wasn't really anything to worry about since it happened about once a week. But for some reason, Astrid was at work later than usual. Carlos brushed it off as just a lot of tests to grade._

_It was just a normal, relaxing evening, with nothing eventful happening. Or so they thought._

_Carlos rolled the dice and moved his character seven spaces, and the game was about over._

_"I win!" Sarah cried, smiling widely. "Can we play again?"_

_"Maybe in the morning, Sarah," Carlos replied. "It's almost your bedtime anyway. Why don't you get ready and I'll be up to tuck you in soon."_

_"Okay," Sarah pouted, but did not argue. She walked upstairs to her bedroom and put on her pale blue pajamas, and crawled into her bed. Carlos walked in a few minutes later._

_"Where's Mom?" the twelve-year-old asked as her father finished tucking the covers around her. "Will she be back soon?"_

_"She had to stay after the meeting," Carlos replied, but a look of uncertainty that Sarah didn't catch crossed his features, as it was a little after nine at night. "Don't worry, sweetie, she'll be home soon."_

_"I hope so," Sarah responded, taking off her glasses and placing them on her bedside table. "Goodnight, Dad."_

_"Goodnight, Sarah." Carlos kissed his daughter on the forehead, and turned off the light. He exited her room, leaving the door open a crack and the hall light on. Sarah turned to face the wall and fell asleep._

_But Sarah wasn't asleep for very long, as Carlos shook her on the shoulder._

_"Sarah, you need to wake up, now," Carlos whispered._

_"Hmm?" Sarah stirred, and turned around to face her father._

_"Listen, honey, you need to get up. Get dressed and pack a few things. We need to find your mother and leave the city. She hasn't come home yet."_

_"Why?" Sarah was confused._

_"Just do it, and hurry," Carlos answered, exiting the bedroom and closing the door._

_Sarah quickly got dressed in a red T-shirt and light blue jeans, wondering why she and her father had to leave so suddenly. She ran downstairs with a small pink duffle bag where Carlos was waiting with a small bag of supplies. _

_"I'm ready!" she announced. _

_Carlos nodded. "Good, let's go."_

_Sarah was confused as to why Carlos was shielding her on the way to the car, but she didn't question it. As they drove away from their home, Sarah noticed that the place was practically deserted, and that there were some strange people-like things wandering around aimlessly._

_"Dad, where is everybody?" she inquired. "What are those things?"_

_"They went on vacation, Sarah, to get away from the sick people," Carlos explained. "Those people there were infected."_

_Sarah seemed satisfied with that answer, much to Carlos's relief. He pulled the car into the high school parking lot, prepared to search for Astrid._

_What he was NOT prepared for, however, was her undead form almost right in front of them._

_End of Flashback_

Sarah shuddered, clearly remembering Carlos telling her to look away and cover her ears. Her mom had somehow gotten bit, possibly the reason why she was "held up at work."

She noticed Kenny coming in to check on them, so she quickly faced the wall and closed her eyes, hoping to rest enough for the coming days ahead.

**\\\\**

**I hope you enjoyed that. XD The next chapter will be the finale. I didn't expect it to even be this long, let alone longer than Through Her Eyes. o.o But I do have a one-shot planned for when I finished, it'll be a happy one. :3 Please leave feedback!**


	26. The End: End Of Episode 5

**And now we come to the final chapter of this story. I want to thank you all for reading and supporting me, and especially those who even helped out when they could. I appreciate each and every one of you. :)**

**\\\\**

_"Against the tide we struggle with the skin we're in, the skin we're in. Against the tide we struggle to keep our heads above the deep and our hearts above the lie."  
_

The lyrics to the song that Sarah's mother would sing for her brought the dark-haired teenager great comfort that late afternoon. It was now five days after sheltering at the hut, and according to Kenny, the group of four were closer to Wellington than ever.

There was still a couple of nights where Sarah had cried herself to sleep (when she made sure no one was listening, of course) because she still missed Carlos, but she really was getting better. She was beginning to function in a zombie apocalyptic world, and Clementine couldn't be more proud of her friend.

During that period of time, Clementine had found herself telling Sarah her whole story, her entire journey since the very beginning. She even told her about a cannibalistic family called the St. Johns, and how they have chopped off the legs of a man named Mark and served them for dinner.

"You really ate some guy's _legs?"_ Sarah had asked incredulously. She felt very squeamish, she never knew that people could eat other people.

"I almost did. Lee stopped me, though," Clementine closed her eyes and turned away.

"Eww!" Sarah had squealed. "I can't believe that they would actually kill people, _and_ eat them!"

That had been on the sixth day.

It was now nine whole days since Sarah, Clementine, Kenny, and AJ had left the spot where Jane had been killed. They had endured another blizzard and a very low number of supplies during that amount of time, but they all came out unscathed.

Right now, Sarah and Clementine were standing at the bottom of a hill, gazing ahead. There was a dark cloud of smoke up ahead, signaling a fire. The two girls could faintly smell it.

Clementine turned around to talk to Kenny, who was coming up from behind. "It's just a little further. We're almost there."

"I sure hope that's a cook fire...oh, we could use a hot meal right about now," Kenny answered, his voice sounding tired. "Might be all I need."

The bearded man stopped, and turned to the girls. "Hey, I'll race you both to the top." He took off running with AJ in his arms, laughing in rare delight.

"Hey!" Clem called, she and Sarah running after him.

Kenny continued to laugh and run. For once, he seemed to have no worries. "Come on, Alvie! We got this!" he exclaimed to the baby in his arms.

He stopped at the top of the hill, gazing ahead in surprise. Clem and Sarah had finally caught up to him.

"You cheated!" Sarah accused playfully.

That was when the two girls noticed what Kenny was looking at. There was a very tall wall, looking to be very protected. A big red gate was at the very front, and there was a window just above it.

"Is that..." Sarah trailed off.

"Holy shit..." Kenny breathed. "We did it, girls! I..." He laughed. "I can't believe we found it!"

"It's about time," Clementine agreed.

"Well, what are we waitin' for? Come on!" Kenny began walking forward, as did Clementine and Sarah. "This one's gotta be the one. Look at those walls. We'll finally feel safe, girls! Be able to sleep at night..."

A gunshot went off, stopping the three in their tracks. Sarah screamed lightly and jumped back, while Clem flinched.

"That's far enough," a woman's voice on an intercom ordered.

"Just stay still, both of you, just do what she says," Kenny assured them. "Put your hands up, Clem. Sarah, you too."

Both of the girls obliged.

"Drop your weapons," the same voice commanded.

The girls looked up at Kenny hesitantly, and the older man nodded. They pulled out their guns and dropped them to the ground. Sarah was afraid that hers would somehow go off, but luckily it didn't.

"Approach the gate."

The three walked over, AJ still in Kenny's arms. A woman with brown hair, probably the owner of the voice over the intercom, showed herself at the top window. She was talking into a walkie-talkie.

"Just a few people at the front gate," she said. "They don't look like trouble...sounds good."

The woman looked down and smiled lightly. "Hi, I'm Edith."

"Name's Kenny, and this here's Clementine, and that's Sarah," Kenny introduced them.

"Hello," Edith replied. She finally noticed the baby. "Aw, what a handsome boy. Look at him! What's his name?"

"Alvin...Junior."

"Aww, he's gonna be a little heart-breaker when he grows up," Edith cooed.

"Is there someone named Christa in there?" Clementine questioned.

Sarah didn't ask who Christa was, because she had been told of this woman, her boyfriend Omid (who had faced a tragic death just over a year earlier), and all of the people Clem had been with, so she just glanced at her.

"I don't think so, dear," Edith responded.

Clementine looked away, a dejected look on her face.

"Sorry, Clem," said Sarah, giving the younger girl an apologetic look.

"So...this is Wellington, right?" Kenny called. AJ had gone to sleep in his arms.

"A lot of people call it that," Edith confirmed.

"Okay, so...what do we do to get in?"

Edith looked remorseful, and Sarah grew a little worried.

"Well, I'm afraid this is the part where I give you the bad news."

_Oh no, are we not allowed in?_ she thought.

With that, Edith disappeared for just a second, and then reappeared with a generous-sized bag. She dropped it down to the group, leaving everyone confused.

"The hell's this?" Kenny almost demanded.

"That's some supplies," Edith explained. "Food, water, some medicine, a first-aid kit-"

"What?" Kenny interrupted.

"Why are you giving us this?" Sarah asked, speaking up to this woman for the first time. "We won't do anything bad!"

"No one thinks you'll do anything bad, hon, but..." Edith truly looked sorry. "...unfortunately, our community isn't accepting new members. We're over-capacity as it is, and there's just not enough room to go around if we keep bringing people in. We might change in a few months-"

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me," said Kenny, looking totally dejected.

And Sarah couldn't blame him. They had been searching for this place for over a week now, and now that they had found it...they were being turned away like this?

"I'm sorry, I really am."

"But, but...we have a baby!" Clementine pleaded.

"This..." Edith turned away. "This is hard for me, too. I don't want to turn anyone away, especially children, but-"

"Just take the kids!" Kenny interjected.

"What?" Clementine asked, and Sarah looked at him with a surprised expression.

"Please, just take the kids! It's too dangerous out there for them!" Kenny begged.

"Kenny, I-"

"It's just a little girl, a baby boy, and a teenager! You can make room for that. You can take back the supplies you gave us if that helps. Please, I just...I just need them to be safe. And it's safe in there, I know that. Just...ask someone...please? They won't make it out here...none of them will..._please!"_

"I'll...I'll ask...just give me a second," Edith decided, disappearing again.

Sarah was genuinely shocked that Kenny had even included her into this. She looked down at the ground and kicked some of the snow, not really knowing how to feel.

Kenny placed a hand to his head and sighed. "You don't need to look at me like that," he told Clementine.

"We're not staying here without you!" Clem protested.

"Yes, you are."

"No, we're not."

"Yes, you are!"

Clementine walked forward, wanting more out of him. Sarah stayed back.

"It's safe here...you all will be safe, that's what important now," Kenny continued.

Edith returned, and Sarah ran the few steps forward, standing to the right of Clementine.

"We can take the children, but...just the children," Edith confirmed. "I made the case that-"

"Thank you! Thank you!" Kenny called gratefully, walking forward. He looked down at Clementine and began talking to her. "Listen. Okay? Listen. This is your chance, for you, and Sarah, and this boy." He handed the sleeping Clementine to AJ and placed both hands on her shoulders. "I don't trust myself to keep any of you safe. Not anymore. Please...I'm begging you, please stay here...stay here where it's safe...where all of you will have a chance!"

Sarah looked from the gates of Wellington, to Edith, and finally back to Clementine and Kenny. She knew she had to make a decision, and quick. But deep down, she knew that wherever Clem would go, she would go. She felt the safest when she was with Clementine.

"No, no, no!" Clementine pleaded, tears falling from her eyes. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because it's the only way, for all three of you. Think about Alvie here," Kenny himself was crying as well. Sarah had never seen a grown man, other than her father, ever cry. "Please, Clem. Just...do as I'm askin'. This one last time." As Clementine just sobbed, Kenny continued. "You'll meet people here, you'll make friends. People better than me...good people. That don't have to look at you...and feel ashamed at what they've put you through. Please, Clem, please. Where you won't have to sleep with a gun next to you every night...where you can be a _kid_ for a while..."

Sarah hugged herself tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. By now he was only talking to Clementine, but she didn't really care because she was caught up in her own thoughts again. Would Carlos have left her here, to be safe, if they could only accept her? Most likely not, but Kenny wasn't the father of any of the kids. She really wanted Carlos here now...

That was when Clementine came to her decision. With tears still fresh on her cheeks, she declined. "No! We're leaving! All of us. _Together."_

"Clem, please. It's safe here, you need to think of the-"

"Stop! Stop, okay? We're not staying, so just stop. That's that."

"Sounds like..." Edith spoke up in a teary voice. "...sounds like she means business."

"Yeah, yeah it does."

Both Kenny and Clementine turned to Sarah, who was still hugging herself, but now she was looking back at them. Kenny approached her with a sigh.

"Well, Sarah, what do you want to do?" he asked, placing only one hand on her shoulder. He was no longer crying. "I'm givin' you an option. You're allowed to stay, but you're more than welcome to come with Clem and me." He was speaking to her like an equal, and not like some dumb kid.

Again, Sarah looked from Edith to Kenny a couple times. For just a split second, she wanted to stay, but she didn't want to be alone with people she didn't know. Plus, who knew if this place was hiding something, like Carver's camp had? Sarah looked Kenny straight in the eyes (eye?).

"I'll stay with you," she offered the older man a small smile. "Clementine taught me how to protect myself."

Kenny nodded, and took his hand off her shoulder. "Okay, Sarah, if that's what you want to do." He smiled back.

"Come on, we're leaving," Clementine announced, only now having stopped crying.

Much to everyone's surprise, Edith dropped another bag of supplies down.

"I'm only supposed to give out one per group, but...look, if you're in the area, check back in a few months. We might be accepting people then."

"Thank you for the help, and, uh...sorry for the language," Kenny apologized.

"Well, it's a shitty situation...we're all doin' the best we can," Edith shrugged in reply. "You all stay safe out there."

And with that, Edith disappeared again. Kenny went and grabbed one bag, Sarah grabbing the other so that Clementine didn't have to carry two things at once (since she was now the one holding AJ).

Kenny and Clementine looked at one another.

"You're as stubborn as a damn mule," the man commented.

Clementine smiled at him. "Wonder where I got that from," she answered sarcastically.

So the four of them set off, wandering to parts unknown. Sarah was feeling really good for the first time in awhile. She decided that she wanted to become some kind of doctor, like Carlos, and help people. She glanced at Kenny and reminded herself to be the one to change his eye bandage later, since they now had medical supplies. Perhaps she could start on him. Maybe they could return to the cabin, and Sarah decided to make that suggestion later. It would be safe at the cabin, with lots of room.

But with any given situation, Sarah was going to be strong. And now she _knew_ that Carlos was proud of her.

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**And there's the final chapter. Again, I thank all of you sincerely for going on this journey with me, it was fun to write. And about Kenny, I believe that he could possibly have begun to care for Sarah after some time. Maybe not as much as Clementine or AJ, but at least care about her well-being. I wish they'd interacted in the game at least a little. Now, I may have told you about the one-shot I have planned for this weekend (don't worry, this one won't be so sad). Also, I'm willing to RP (roleplay) with anyone who is interested. Now...please review, and hopefully we can make it to 100 this time (wink wink nudge nudge). ;) Thank you all once again!**

**My Episode Choices:**

**I protected the baby**

**I helped Luke**

**I didn't ask to leave with Mike**

**I didn't shoot Kenny**

**In the end, I'm with Kenny and AJ**


End file.
